Midnight Snacks
by Wishful Dreaming
Summary: He chuckled, kissing her lightly on the forehead. Then he asked bluntly as if it were the natural progression of the conversation, "Marry me?" A series of one-shots involving Shawn, Juliet, food, and a midnight rendezvous.
1. Rice Krispies

Midnight Snacks

**Disclaimer: **Um… supposedly I don't own Psych or any of the characters in it. Not yet, at least, [insert evil laugh].

**Summary: **Shawn and Juliet and their midnight rendezvous. Each one-shot centers around food. They are dating in this one so its kinda AU.

Chapter 1: Rice Krispies "Shawn? What are you doing here?" Juliet exclaimed when she pulled her apartment door open.

"That's how you greet your favoritest boyfriend ever. Jules, I'm hurt," Shawn teased leaning forward to kiss her lightly.

"It's the middle of the night though!" Juliet reasoned. Although, honestly she knew it was pointless, this was Shawn. There was no reasoning with him.

"You were up watching the James Bond marathon anyway." Shawn said in his defense, knowing she'd let him in.

Juliet narrowed her eyes and half-jokingly asked, "How did you know I was watching that?"

"Oh, come on, Jules, you act as if I don't know you at all. You couldn't resist a Bond marathon if you tried," Shawn explained, "Now can you let me in?"

She smirked at him as she pretended to debate her answer.

"I brought Rice Krispy cereal and marshmallows so we can make Rice Krispies and then snuggle up together on your couch," Shawn, with his ruffled hair and excited eyes, added holding up the grocery bag.

Juliet swung her door wide open. "Only for the Rice Krispies treats."

Later that night as The Spy who Loved Me came to an end Shawn and Jules lay sleeping together on the couch with a pan of half eaten Rice Krispy treats on the table in front of them.

**To Anyone Who Cares:** So both my older brothers and sisters are dating right now and all their happy fluffy mush is starting to rub off on me. Anyways this is like my favorite show, it's so funny. I hope I potrayed both of them right. Reviews and advice are appreciated.


	2. Pineapple Popiscle

Midnight Snacks

**Disclaimer: **Um… supposedly I don't own Psych or any of the characters in it. Not yet, at least, [insert evil laugh].

**Summary:** Shawn and Juliet and their midnight rendezvous. Each one-shot centers around food. References to Gus Walks into a Bank which this takes place two days after.

Chapter 2: Pineapple Popsicles "Jules!? Why are you here?" Shawn asked confused when he pulled his apartment door open to reveal the blonde-haired Junior Detective. His hazel eyes were sleepy and his hair stood out even more erratically than it usually did. Juliet felt a little bad about waking him up but this, this was important.

"You should be getting your beauty sleep. It's," Shawn paused while he turned his head back into his apartment looking at a clock, "12:55."

Juliet wanted to glare at him. It was all his fault she couldn't sleep but it was impossible when he stood there looking absolutely adorable in gray pajama pants and a white t-shirt speckled with little pineapples. "I need to ask you something," Juliet said firmly, her mind was finally made up about him.

Even more confused Shawn stepped back from his door. "Well come in. Do you want a pineapple popsicle because I have about ten boxes of them."

"Sure," Juliet said closing the door behind her as Shawn had already bounded off to his kitchen. Looking all around her Juliet realized she had never been inside Shawn's apartment. The walls, each one painted a different neon color, represented his spirit perfectly. Then her eyes locked on a little picture hanging on the orange wall. It was of her, Shawn, and Gus at her desk eating Chinese. It only reminded her of why she was here.

"Shawn," she called out.

"Right here, Jules," Shawn whispered right behind her. Whirling around she faced Shawn who held out a yellow popsicle for her, already eating his own.

Taking it from him Juliet spoke, her voice more demanding than questioning, "Did you mean it?"

"Mean what?" Shawn asked his head tilting like a puppy.

"About my being happy?" her voice softening considerably and she tapped her foot nervously.

Shawn started to lie, but abruptly changing his mind said sincerely, "No, not really. I mean I want you to be happy. I love when you're happy. I guess I'm just… jealous." Now Shawn was tapping nervously while Juliet apparently hearing what she had wanted was a bit more relaxed.

"Then you should know I'm not happy. I broke up with Luntz this afternoon. He was nice and all but I, I… I love someone else," Juliet said, all relaxation gone. She watched as his eyes flickered with deep hurt for the briefest moment at the mention of someone else. He stood stiffly still, sucking the popsicle, appearing as serious as Juliet had ever seen him.

"Who?" Shawn asked quietly.

She had to tell him now whatever happened this was worth it. Plus she'd never really know if this was a mistake if she didn't tell him. "Shawn," she also whispered lowering her popsicle to her side and stepping even closer to him. She could smell the pineapple popsicle on his breath as he too lowered it to his side.

"What?" Shawn questioned, words laced with uncertainty.

"It's you, Shawn, you are the one." And then Juliet kissed him erasing all uncertainty between them.

Shawn's lips were soft and he grinned like a fool through the kiss. Naturally he tasted like pineapple Popsicle. What else would he taste like but pineapple?

**To Anyone Who Cares:** It helps if you eat a pineapple popiscle while reading this. Thank you gnbrules reviewing (I was eating homemade rice krispy treats while I wrote that one). Hope everyone likes this one. Please read and review!


	3. Hot Dogs

**Midnight Snacks**

**Disclaimer: **Um… supposedly I don't own Psych or any of the characters in it. Not yet, at least, [insert evil laugh].

**Summary: **Shawn and Juliet and their midnight rendezvous. Each one-shot centers around food.

Chapter 3: Hot Dogs "Jules! Help me!" Shawn shrieked suddenly interrupting Juliet. "My hot dog! The ketchup, its dripping everywhere," Shawn gasped, completely flustered.

Juliet could only laugh for Shawn already had a relish stain running all the way down his shirt. Shawn's exclamation woke up her though; it was dark. Just how long had they been out here walking along the boardwalk, talking about everything and anything, enjoying their hot dogs. Glancing at her watch, Juliet gasped at the sight of the numbers, 12:27.

She brought her gaze back to Shawn who held the remainder of his hot dog in one hand while he licked the ketchup off his other hand. Of course as he licked his fingers the hot dog was dripping more ketchup onto his shirt. Laughing nearly to tears, Juliet shrugged off the fact that it was past midnight. Time rarely seemed to matter when it concerned having fun with Shawn.

"Do you think next, maybe, you should use a little less ketchup?"

Shawn's head shot up and his mouth hung open in mock surprise, "Jules! Never! A hot dog just isn't a hot dog unless it's swimming in ketchup."

Juliet shook her head laughing at the hilarious sight of Shawn and pulled a packet of tissues out of her purse. Standing in front of him she began wiping his shirt. "Here, for your fingers and face," Juliet laughed handing him another tissue.

"I'm serious, Jules, girls who don't like lots of ketchup on their hot dogs is a deal breaker for me. Just like you and the bowling deal breaker," Shawn said in a low voice practically whispering in her ear.

Only now did Juliet realize how close she was standing to Shawn. She straightened up slowly watching his eyes watching hers. Also whispering with a hint of a smile playing across her face she asked, "Did you know there's an exception to the rule?"

"Really, what is it?"

Juliet couldn't help but adore the genuinely curious look on Shawn's face-now that the ketchup was off it. "Well he wouldn't have to bowl if he was funny and-."

"I'm funny," Shawn interrupted, a twinge of hopefulness evident in his widened eyes and smile.

"I know you are. He has to be caring too."

"I care a lot about you, Jules," Slowly, tentatively she reached up and brushed a strand of Juliet's long blonde hair behind her ear. He dropped his hand back to his side uncharacteristically nervous.

"I know you do. But he'd have to be exciting and handsome too. Only then would he have a chance without knowing how to bowl," Juliet grinned, also nervous. She was inviting Shawn in.

"Oh, I'm definitely exciting and handsome," Shawn smirked, straining to remain confident.

"I know you are."

Was this her way of inviting him in? he wondered. "So I qualify for the exception?" Shawn asked, trying not to sound hopeful.

"I guess so," Juliet whispered, unsure of where this conversation was going.

"I could always have an exception too."

"Really, what would it be?" She searched his hazel eyes for any indication of what was happening but he seemed just as unsure as he was.

This is it. Is she ready or not, Shawn thought. "She would need to trust me," Shawn paused and stared at her as if he was trying to convey some unspoken message.

"I know she'd be worried that he wouldn't take it seriously or that it would ruin their friendship but she would have to trust that he loves, yes he _loves_ her, and that he would never ruin their friendship." Shawn continued to stare at her earnestly.

There was a moment of silence and then, "I could do that. I could qualify for the exception. I'm ready to trust you, Shawn."

**To Anyone Who Cares:** Thank you gnbrules, xfirefly9x, Dakota Kent, Harri85 for reviewing. Also thank you to hot dogs for being so delectable. So both my older brothers and sisters are dating right now and all their happy fluffy mush is starting to rub off on me. I hope everyone likes it. Reviews and advice are always appreciated.


	4. Fortune Cookies

Midnight Snacks

**Disclaimer: **Um… supposedly I don't own Psych or any of the characters in it. Not yet, at least, [insert evil laugh].

**Summary: **Shawn and Juliet and their midnight rendezvous. Each one-shot centers around food. This is an alternative ending to Bounty Hunters.

Chapter 4: Fortune Cookies "Shawn! Why were you here? It's really late," Juliet called out anxiously. Honestly all she wanted to do right now was dissemble and reassemble her gun, the stress activity they taught in the Academy, and decide exactly what her feelings were about Shawn. But when he had called out, "Goodnight, Detective," she wondered if he actually had something he needed to tell her about the case before they, well before they talked very closely.

As for Shawn he was proud of himself for walking away, for not pushing Juliet into something she wasn't ready for. That was how much he cared about her; he could wait. He stopped at the end of the hall when she called out to him. And Shawn would be lying if he said he didn't hope for one tiny moment that she'd changed her mind. If Juliet wanted to know why he was here, he would tell her.

Juliet watched motionlessly at her desk as Shawn stood pulling something out of his pocket. Then abruptly without a word he strode back to her, his entire attitude determined.

"Here. This is why I came. The fortune told me to," Shawn said, taking her hand gently and dropping a plastic bag with a crumpled fortune cookie inside into her hand.

"You can eat it. I just broke it and read the fortune. It's still in there, the fortune, I mean," Shawn said earnestly. Looking at her meaningfully once more he turned and began walking back down the hall.

Bewildered Juliet watched him walk away again until he had turned the corner and she could no longer see him. His spell on her now broken she curiously opened the fortune cookie's bag.

Did he really just come to give me a fortune cookie? Juliet wondered, scooping the broken pieces out of the bag and into her mouth. Unbeknownst to her as she consumed the cookie the fortune fluttered to the ground beneath her desk.

Or did he come to …talk closely with me? Juliet continued to wonder. She can't even bring her mind to admit what they were about to do. What she wanted to do. Maybe I should have gone along with Shawn. Mom always said some mistakes are worth making. But is it really worth our friendship and what about our jobs. If I'm going to risk my heart I have to be sure this isn't just some game to him. Juliet's thoughts poured out in a jumbled mess as she stood at her desk.

Gathering her purse, gun, and unfinished paperwork Juliet replayed Shawn's words, "That's what friends are for." Yes, she was okay with that. Shawn wasn't aware of the risks they would be taking. He just did whatever he wanted. Friends, they were better as friends. Juliet reasoned with herself fighting against the nagging thought that whispered if Shawn showed any indication that he knew of the risks she would have kissed him by now.

Now sliding into her car she drowned out the thoughts of Shawn with her plans for the night, movie and pizza at home.

An hour later the janitor shuffled through the hallways of the SBPD cleaning up as he did every Friday night. It was surprising how dirty the place could get in a week, he observed while mopping around the desks.

"Ah, what do we have here?" he asked himself spying a strip of paper beneath one of the desks. As it was he ate Chinese just yesterday and recognized the spirally red script of a fortune.

Picking it up he read the fortune aloud, "Take a risk with your heart." Vaguely he wondered if the owner had followed the advice. Did he or she take the risk? How had it turned out? The janitor hoped whoever it was got what they wanted as he dropped the fortune into the trashcan.

**To Anyone Who Cares: **Thank you Harri85, Dakota Kent, xfirefly9x, and gnbrules for reviewing**. **It's severely appreciated. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update. AT least you get a double dose this time. I hope everyone likes it. And yes, fortune cookies are magical, if only magically delicious.


	5. Fortune Cookies 2

Midnight Snacks

**Disclaimer: **Um… supposedly I don't own Psych or any of the characters in it. Not yet, at least, [insert evil laugh].

**Summary: **Shawn and Juliet and their midnight rendezvous. Each one-shot centers around food. This is an alternative ending to Bounty Hunters.

Chapter 5: Fortune Cookies 2.0 "Shawn! Why were you here? It's really late," Juliet called out anxiously. Honestly all she wanted to do right now was dissemble and reassemble her gun, the stress activity they taught in the Academy, and decide exactly what her feelings were about Shawn. But when he had called out, "Goodnight, Detective," she wondered if he actually had something he needed to tell her about the case before they, well before they talked very closely.

As for Shawn he was proud of himself for walking away, for not pushing Juliet into something she wasn't ready for. That was how much he cared about her; he could wait. He stopped at the end of the hall when she called out to him. And Shawn would be lying if he said he didn't hope for one tiny moment that she'd changed her mind. If Juliet wanted to know why he was here, he would tell her.

Juliet watched motionlessly at her desk as Shawn stood pulling something out of his pocket. Then abruptly without a word he strode back to her, his entire attitude determined.

"Here. This is why I came. The fortune told me to," Shawn said, taking her hand gently and dropping a plastic bag with a crumpled fortune cookie inside into her hand.

"You can eat it. I just broke it and read the fortune. It's still in there, the fortune, I mean," Shawn said earnestly. Looking at her meaningfully once more he turned and began walking back down the hall.

Bewildered Juliet watched him walk away again until he had turned the corner and she could no longer see him. His spell on her now broken she curiously opened the fortune cookie's bag.

Did he really just come to give me a fortune cookie? Juliet wondered, scooping the broken pieces out of the bag and into her mouth. Thoughts still scrambled in her head as Juliet pulled the fortune out. She read it once, then again slowly making sure. She took off running through the hallways, out the door, and down the stairs. Juliet stood on the pavement surveying the parking lot for Shawn's motorcycle.

"Shawn! Shawn! Wait!" He was standing there about to put his helmet on and Juliet knew she couldn't let him go. "Is this serious?" She stared at him holding the fortune in her palm where he could see it and when no answer came Juliet read it, "Take a risk with your heart."

Slowly, like a scene from a movie, Shawn set his helmet back on the seat of his bike. His eyes never left her face watching her watching him both waiting to see who would break the silence first. "I wouldn't have come if I wasn't." Shawn said, never one for silence.

"I know. I'm sorry I wasn't ready. I was the one who wasn't serious. I just thought you were…," Juliet trailed off shaking her head angrily, confused with herself. Shawn only stared, wondering did this change anything, would she ever be ready, was this going anywhere or was this just all part of the suffering a person in love dealt with. She continued now her voice taking on a determined note, "I really like close talking."

The smile that spread across Shawn's face would have made dentists across the world proud for Juliet it just made her knees want to give out. "I think we're ready to take close talking to the next level. Let's close whisper," Shawn suggested, in that cheesy way that made him inexplicably Shawn.

**To Anyone Who Cares: **Thank you Harri85, Dakota Kent, xfirefly9x, and gnbrules for reviewing**. **It's severely appreciated. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update. I hope everyone likes it. And yes, fortune cookies are magical, if only magically delicious.


	6. Pizza

Midnight Snacks

**Disclaimer: **Um… supposedly I don't own Psych or any of the characters in it. Not yet, at least, [insert evil laugh].

**Summary:** Shawn and Juliet and their midnight rendezvous. Each one-shot centers around food. Follows Shawn Has the Yips except in a world without Abigail.

Pizza: "Jules!" Shawn practically yelled, trying to be heard over the torrential rain, even though he was standing beside her, "What's going on?!" he held the umbrella above both of them as Juliet jumped out of her car.

"Let's just get inside first," Juliet shouted back evasively.

Shawn nodded grabbed her hand and started running for the Psych office. Safely inside Shawn closed the door and dropped the umbrella on the floor. He stood across from Juliet looking at her hair, her clothes, everything dripping wet; he figured it was her run from her house to her car. Shaking his head slightly he said, "Hold on, I'll get you a towel and I think I have a pair of sweats and a t-shirt you can change into."

"Ok, thanks," Juliet replied in a dazed manner shivering slightly. Shawn grabbed the clothes out the back closet then darted to Gus' desk for the towel meanwhile replaying the 11:30 phone call from Juliet through his head.

_"Shawn, its Juliet-."_

_"Jules, do you know what time it is? What's going on?"_

_"Can I come over?"_

_"Um. Well, yeah, but I'm not at my apartment, I'm at the office. Jules, is everything ok?"_

_"I'm fine. I'll be right there."_

_"Sure. Be careful though it's pouring out there."_

"Here you go," Shawn said handing her the clothes and towel while simultaneously thanking Gus for not forgetting the number one Boy Scout rule. "The bathroom's back there." Shawn reminded her. He was worried about her; the way her eyes kept darting around and her palpable anxiety.

He sat down on the couch outside the office area. It was too late to order pizza, but he still felt like he owed her pizza since it was kind of, sort of his fault they hadn't eaten it earlier in the day. Although Shawn would've sworn that he hung the phone back up when he was done with it.

His head shot up and his thoughts halted when Jules walked out of the bathroom. The sight of her in his loose casual clothes made his heart beat too fast and he tried not to pinpoint why.

"Come on, sit down. I was just going to get some leftover pizza out of the fridge. It's not as good as hot and fresh but I can stick it in the microwave for a second. I'll be right back then we're talking, okay," Shawn shook his head a little, he felt like he was talking to a child, but the blank look in her eyes and on her face scared him.

He walked backwards to the refrigerator, watching her sit down, until he came to the partition where he could no longer see her. Humming to himself Shawn set about grabbing the paper plates and box of Hawaiian pizza. He was just pulling a couple of slices out of the box when the blinding flash of lightning streaked across the sky, the power went out with a boom of its own, then the subsequent crack of thunder shook the entire office. Shawn hardly heard any of it though. The only sound he heard was the abrupt blood curdling scream of terror from one Juliet O' Hara.

"Jules!" Shawn haphazardly dropped the pizza on the counter and ran back to the couch. He sat down beside her and like a habit, like something he did everyday, like something that was a second nature, wrapped his arms around Juliet. She leaned into him crying and shivering uncontrollably.

She kept mumbling, "Bomb. Bomb. Bomb." It didn't take Shawn and his super awesome psychic powers to know what was wrong.

"It's okay. It's just thunder. Just thunder. Buzz is okay, I'm okay, and you, Jules, you are going to be okay."

When he felt her nod into his chest he let out a quiet breath of air,_ she would be okay._ Shawn pulled her closer hoping it would keep her from trying to leave when she calmed down.

"I'm sorry, Shawn," Juliet began mumbling.

"Hey, he said gently taking her face in his hands, "You don't need to be sorry, you just need to be ok. I need you to be ok, Jules. And until you are ok I will be right here with you."

"Come on, you're probably starving," Shawn continued, purposely not giving her a chance to reply. He slipped his arms off her and grabbed her hand, pulling her up with him.

She nodded and followed him. "It's Hawaiian, right?"

Shawn surprised at her question, laughed, "Of course it is. With delightful little slices of pineapple happiness and ham all over."

**To Anyone Who Cares: **Thank you sadiegrl,Harri85, Dakota Kent, xfirefly9x, and gnbrules for reviewing. Hope you like it considering that this chapter isn't as fluffy as usual. And if you haven't eaten any Hawaiian pizza I highly recommend you order some right now. And just a little side note if you know the song by Ingrid Michaelson Be Ok it gave me part of the idea for this.


	7. Pop Tarts

Midnight Snacks

**Disclaimer: **Um… supposedly I don't own Psych or any of the characters in it. Not yet, at least, [insert evil laugh].

**Summary:** Shawn and Juliet and their midnight rendezvous. Each one-shot centers around food. Follows Romeo and Juliet and Juliet.

Pop Tarts:

"Jules? What are you doing here? I'm pretty sure when Chief said to report to her in the morning for your first day back she didn't mean at 3:00 in the morning," Shawn questioned of the beautiful junior detective coming his way.

"Um," Juliet stared at him and then her desk questioningly, "I got called in. Lassiter-," she stopped though her curiosity nearly eating away at her, "What exactly are you doing here?"

He grinned now and practically danced over to where she had been standing at a safe distance. "I was decorating your desk with a few 'Welcome Back' essentials for your first day," Shawn replied gleefully-everything Shawn did was gleeful- while pulling Juliet over to her desk.

"Yeah, I see. I think a few is an understatement."

Her desk looked, looked- well, it looked like Shawn had decorated it. There was an assortment- two were pineapples- of helium balloons tied to her chair and in it sat a huge stuffed bear, a vase full of sunflowers, streamers draped strategically around, big, colorful bows were tied to all her cabinets, a huge card stood on the middle of her desk- she could see that most of the precinct had signed it- and beside that sat a huge basket of food and toys. Vanilla Wafers, Oreos, Cheetos, Pop Tarts, Reese Puffs, oranges, apples, bananas, pineapples, M'M's, Sour Patch Kids, her favorite brand of coffee beans, giant Hershey bars, Tootsie Roll pops, a slinky, Silly Putty, Uno cards, an etch-a-sketch, bouncy balls, colored pencils. It was all in there and that's just what she could see.

"Shawn." She smiled softly, fighting the urge to tear up at his kindness. Really was there anyone else out there even close to being this genuinely sweet.

Sensing her line of thought Shawn said, "I wanted to."

A nod, a few more seconds spent staring at her desk then she took the rain check. Throwing her arms around him Juliet whispered, "Thank you so much."

Shawn hugged back, holding her gently before repeating a statement used once before in front of her desk, "That's what friends are for."

_Da na Da na Da na._

"Jaws?" Shawn chuckled as Juliet's phone began to play the theme.

"Yeah." Jules answered not moving to answer it just yet.

"Lassie?" Shawn guessed.

"Yeah." A few more seconds passed where they stood there unwillingly to break the hug.

"I should probably get that," Juliet moved out of Shawn's arms and pulled the phone out.

"Lassiter? Why aren't you here yet?"

Jules laughed at whatever his reply was.

"Yeah. Okay."

"See you soon."

Closing her phone she looked at Shawn, "He couldn't get his car to start. He'll be here in about twenty minutes and he's not happy. Apparently Triple A doesn't take kindly to 3 o'clock phone calls."

Scrutinizing him Juliet asked, "Why exactly were you doing this at 3. You could have set it up last night or later this morning."

His eyes instantly lost contact with hers and Juliet knew. Shawn couldn't sleep after Yin either. "Sorry." She had been stupid to think she was the only one being plagued by nightmares.

He nodded. "Why don't we play Uno while we wait," Shawn suggested, moving seamlessly back into cheerfulness.

"Yes," Juliet agreed with excitement. "Let's eat Pop Tarts too. I'm starving."

"You want to eat the smores box or the cookies and cream," Shawn asked, joining in her excitement. He began pulling someone else's chair over to her desk.

"Smores. The cookies and cream taste best-"

"When there are frozen," Shawn completed her sentence* like any pop tart aficionado would.

"I know!"

_20 minutes later _

Lassiter stood silently at the end of the hall watching the two friends laughing together. He can see from here that they are playing some kind of heated card game as they eat pop tarts. He can hear the way she jokingly tells him he's making a huge mess, getting crumbs everywhere. Shawn's flirtatious reply of 'You could always feed me than' is expected. Her laughter is relieving sound. He decides he won't interrupt until once they've finished eating. And then he tells himself that he's not being a softie, just observing two people. Two people clearly in love.

**To Anyone Who Cares: **Thank you iLoveRomance2010, Saoirse Driscoll, hidden magic, You-won't-see-an-iguana-here, sadiegrl,Harri85, Dakota Kent, xfirefly9x, and gnbrules for reviewing. I apologize for not posting anything in …well, forever. Please feel free to throw the rotten tomatoes. Hope You like it. I kind of rushed the ending, sorry, again.

*_Couldn't help the one little jab at Feet Don't Kill Me Now._


	8. Hot Chocolate

Midnight Snacks

**Disclaimer: **Um… supposedly I don't own Psych or any of the characters in it. Not yet, at least, [insert evil laugh].

**Summary:** Shawn and Juliet and their midnight rendezvous. Each one-shot centers around food. They're dating in this one so it's kind of AU. Reference to Rob-A-Bye Baby.

Hot Chocolate: "Shawn? Hmm." Juliet rolled away from Shawn trying to ignore his voice.

"Come on, Jules. Wake up," Shawn implored in the sweetest voice he could muster up.

"What time is it," she mumbled.

"2:30," he said matter-of-factly.

"What!"

"I have hot chocolate, if that helps, but you need to get up," Shawn laughed.

"Why," she moaned.

"Because," Shawn said grinning ecstatically. Now she was sitting up, confused.

"Shawn, what are you talking about," Juliet questioned, narrowing her eyes at the look on his face.

"Here drink some hot chocolate first," Shawn offered her a warm mug. She took it hesitantly and looked inside surprised to see it was actually hot chocolate. As if he knew what she was thinking, which Juliet knew he didn't, he said, "Just a peace offering." Nodding, a small smile starting to work its way across her face, she took a sip. Watching her, Shawn remembered a conversation from a few years ago.

_It was the day after the case with the evil nannies, the case where he fake proposed to Jules. He went in early under the pretense that he was bored and needed a new case. Juliet, the real reason he was here, sat at her desk sipping her coffee and diligently filling out her paperwork. He plopped down on top of her desk before she could stop him and cheekily said, "Good morning, fiancé."_

"_Shawn, that was just our cover," Juliet sighed, he was an expert at distracting her from her work, "Anyways that's not how I'd want it to happen."_

"_Really and how exactly do you want to be proposed to," Shawn asked eagerly, watching the small blush that crept unto her face._

"_Never mind. This is ridiculous," Juliet said, going back to her paperwork._

_Impulsively he snatched the papers away from her and pleaded, "Jules, this is important. I mean what if one day your boyfriend asks me how he should pop the question. I need to be able to give him the right answer." He silently prayed there would never be another guy, that it would be him proposing for real and just the way she wanted it. _

"_Give me back my papers first and promise to let me get back to work."_

"_Your wish is my command." Infectious smile in place, he returned her papers and folded his hands like a schoolboy._

_She remained silent for a couple of moments, staring at nothing. He's certain she's praying for some way out of this. When she finally starts it's only a mumble but he remembers her excitement in the nannies office coupled with the fact that she only has brothers and all her friends are guys. The truth is Juliet probably is dying to tell someone._

"_I would want it to be private and I wouldn't want it to be on some stereotypical, pre-planned day like Valentines Day or my birthday." She glanced away, wistful. "You know, just asking out-of-the-blue because he couldn't stand the thought of not spending the rest of his life with me. And the ring would be simple, of course."_

The full-blown, knock-you-off-your-feet Shawn smile slid onto his face. He was doing everything perfectly. The ring was simple, beautiful, perfect. He had hid in is bedside drawer almost a month ago. Christmas wasn't for another three weeks so it wasn't some stereotypical holiday. And he absolutely can't stand another moment of not asking her to spend the rest of their lives together. During the night he had woken to find her head pillowed on his chest and knew that right then he had to ask her.

"Shawn, why are we up?" Her eyes watch him curiously.

The smile has yet to fade and probably won't for a while. He's not nervous because she'll say yes. He takes her hot chocolate and sets it down with his before flipping the ring box open. "Jules, will you marry me?"

**To Anyone Who Cares: **Hope you liked it. This is actually how my brother ended up proposing. He had this big dinner thing planned but then a couple of nights before that he said he couldn't stand waiting any longer so he asked. Thank you iLoveRomance2010, Saoirse Driscoll, hidden magic, You-won't-see-an-iguana-here, sadiegrl,Harri85, Dakota Kent, xfirefly9x, and gnbrules for reviewing.


	9. Tacos

Midnight Snacks

**Disclaimer: **Um… supposedly I don't own Psych or any of the characters in it. Not yet, at least, [insert evil laugh].

**Summary:** Shawn and Juliet and their midnight rendezvous. Each one-shot centers around food.

Tacos: "Jules? It's almost midnight. You must be exhausted," he stared at her for a moment taking note of the circles beneath her eyes and the slump of her shoulders before gently pulling her into his apartment and into his embrace.

She sighed against him and laid her head on his chest. "What are you doing here? You should go home and sleep. You've had a ridiculously long week. You didn't have to come."

"I wanted to," Juliet backed out of his arms and smiled shakily up at him. Her heart literally hurt after today. She had driven straight here after dropping Lassiter off at his home. Unsurprisingly, he had signed out against medical advice.

"I couldn't miss taco night." She needed the human contact, needed to forget her partner had been shot today, needed to forget that another girl had died before they caught the bad guy. What she needed was her best friend.

"Good. It's boring without you. Gus fell asleep during Ferris Bueller. He's on the couch. I was just putting the tacos away." Shawn said beckoning her into the kitchen. He could see that she didn't want to talk and he was good with that since he really didn't want to either. A couple inches and that bullet would have killed her instead of only catching Lassie in the arm.

"Oh, there are some left," Juliet replied eagerly acknowledging that tight, empty feeling in her stomach.

"Yeah, we even have the spicy sauce you love," he grinned sillyly and practically danced off to the kitchen.

She would've sworn right then that his smile was contagious as one of her own filled her face. She followed behind him and watched as he grabbed a paper plate- it was one of the cute, animal shaped ones, of course,- for her and began filling up two taco shells just the way she liked. There was no one else like Shawn.

"Ta Da!" he handed her the plate with a flourish. "You need some caffeine too."

In another moment he was handing her a can of soda. "Come on, Jules," he spoke soothingly with his hand on the small of her back ushering her into the living room. "I can roll Gus off the couch since it's kind of hard to eat in the bean bag."

"Shawn!" she scolded as she imagined poor Gus being dumped to the ground. Juliet was glad for the comic relief Shawn provided though.

"It's ok," he corrected as they rounded the corner, "See, he's already on the beanbag." She grinned at the sleeping man. Gus' head was back, mouth hanging open.

Juliet sat down on the right side, tucking her legs beneath her in Indian style, and carefully balancing her food on her lap. Shawn stood, still watching her.

"Do you want a blanket? It's kind of cold in here." He didn't wait for her reply, since she had already begun stuffing her mouth, instead pulling a soft brown blanket from off the back of the couch and handing it to her. He had bought the blanket for her because her years in Florida had left her with a very low tolerance for cold and one taco night he had noticed the goosebumbs on her arms.

"Thank you." Juliet smiled at him as he sat close beside her.

"No problem. Do you want to watch this or you could pick something else," Shawn asked.

Juliet stared at him. His body was tensed, ready to jump up if she gave the word. Really, he was ready and willing to do anything. He was being so nice, not to say he wasn't all the time, but he, she realized, was fussing over her. Juliet couldn't quite remember the last time someone had fussed over her but it was definitely nice especially coming from him. Him and his enigmatic smile, warm eyes, the way everything about him seemed to comfort her. _Oh God…_she thought.

"Jules? Is something wrong or am I just that irresistible?" Shawn questioned waving a hand in front of her face.

Barking out a laugh, she fought off the coming blush, "Sorry, just thinking. Bueller's good with me."

He nodded and clicked play, "You know I always thought Hughes made this movie as a special dedication to me."

Juliet laughed as Shawn settled down beside her. Eventually they would both drift off. It wouldn't be the first time Jules had spent the night because she'd fallen asleep on the couch with Shawn on a taco night.

It wasn't until Ferris saved Cameron from the pool that Juliet told Shawn part of what she thought of earlier. Only part though, he didn't need to know that she was in love with him.

"Shawn, you're my best friend." She said quietly, sincerely.

"Hm." He tightens his grip on her shoulder, pulling her closer to him. When she subsequently lays her head on his shoulder and he begins to soothingly run his fingers through her hair, she knows how important the statement is to him, how seriously he took it.

"I like that," he replies softly and Juliet realizes that she is getting a glimpse of the Shawn that is so often hidden by his humor.

She loves that side of him too. She loves a lot of things about Shawn, her best friend.

**To Anyone Who Cares: **Hope you like it. I don't know if any of you remember or are suffering with me in middle school (nasty, mean, gossiping, rumor-spreading girls that don't even know you) that much but it sucks so recently all I want to write is comfort. Remember, for best results read while eating tacos. Thank you so much Juleskat101, DarkBrownEyes08, iknowuknow MaddyTaddy627, disordered, iLoveRomance2010, Saoirse Driscoll, hidden magic, You-won't-see-an-iguana-here, sadiegrl, Harri85, Dakota Kent, xfirefly9x, and gnbrules for reviewing.


	10. Pumpkin Pie

Midnight Snacks

**Disclaimer: **Um… supposedly I don't own Psych or any of the characters in it. Not yet, at least, [insert evil laugh].

**Summary:** Shawn and Juliet and their midnight rendezvous. Each one-shot centers around food.

Pumpkin Pie: "Jules?" Shawn whispered.

"Yeah?"

"What time is it?"

"Ugh… I don't know. We got home at 12ish so… one something by now. Why?" Juliet replied sluggishly.

The couple had spent all day running from one Thanksgiving meal to another. The Chief's, McNabb's, the Burton's, Henry's, and even Lassiter's. To say that Shawn and Juliet had eaten a lot would be the understatement of the century. Finally at 11:00, the two had dragged themselves (and their leftovers) out of Henry's house and headed for Shawn's apartment.

"How absolutely ridiculous would it be if I said I wanted more of that pumpkin pie," Shawn said tentatively, almost like a child waiting for a rebuke.

"Are you serious?" Juliet immediately sat up to stare at him incredulously.

"Kind of… It was just so creamy and delicious and mouthwatering- O my gosh, I need more of it!" Shawn exclaimed pushing himself off the couch and stumbling into the kitchen. Juliet continued to lay there as she listened to Shawn open the fridge, get a plate and a spoon.

"You're crazy, you know," Juliet called out to him.

His reply was swift as always, "That's why you love me. Now before you continue to mock me, do you want another slice?"

"No! I feel like an Oompa-Loompa," Juliet moaned.

"Oh, genius idea, Jules! We absolutely must watch _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory._ I feel like one too but the nausea has worn off so I'm good to go," Shawn said wandering back to the couch with a rather large slice of pie on his plate.

"Hmmmm… This is just as amazing as I remembered," Shawn sat down real close to Juliet, licking his lips. "Jules, are you sure," he teased waving a spoonful of it beneath her face. "I swear you don't look like an Oompa-Loompa and that's all that really matters."

"Well," Juliet started gazing at the pie, "I guess if you're going to force me I'll have a bite."

"Here, I thought you might want this," Shawn smiled cockily, handing her another spoon.

Sheepishly taking it from him, she sighed with happiness, "We're going to have to get Gus to bake us another one."

"Agreed," Shawn mumbled around the pie in his mouth, "Now should we watch the original _Charlie_ or the remake?"

**To Anyone Who Cares: **Yes, I'm well aware that this is late, embarrasingly late and that Thanksgiving was weeks ago. However I wrote this back then and then never got around to typing or posting it so…. Remember, for best results read while eating pumpkin pie (of course that might be a little difficult considering how absurdly late this is). Hope you like it. Just a little plot less Thanksgiving fluff. Thank you so much sparksfly16, frenchhornfreak, ArmyRoses, Juleskat101, DarkBrownEyes08, iknowuknow MaddyTaddy627, , disordered, iLoveRomance2010, Saoirse Driscoll, hidden magic, You-won't-see-an-iguana-here, sadiegrl,Harri85, Dakota Kent, xfirefly9x, and gnbrules for reviewing.


	11. Gingerbread Men

Midnight Snacks

**Disclaimer: **Um… supposedly I don't own Psych or any of the characters in it. Not yet, at least, [insert evil laugh].

**Summary:** Shawn and Juliet and their midnight rendezvous. Each one-shot centers around food.

Gingerbread Men: "Jules, where are you?" Shawn asked into the phone, a hint of worry coloring his tone.

"Um… I'm almost here. I'll tell you what happened in a second," Juliet said sheepishly, "You are going to die when I tell you. Hold on, I'm pulling up now. See you."

When a second later Shawn heard the dial tone of his phone he moved over to the window of the Psych office so he could watch as Juliet did indeed park her car. She came running into the office with a box of cookies.

"Sorry, I'm late guys," Juliet exclaimed as she looked around at the boxes of Christmas decorations waiting to be used in the office. Tonight Gus, Shawn, and her planned to decorate the Psych office while they waited to see the lunar eclipse.

"No problem Juliet," Gus called out, "From what I've heard we won't be able to see the eclipse until 2ish. And it's not like Shawn has any understanding for the concept of time."

"Hey, that's not fair. I know that it takes exactly 49 hours and 22 minutes to watch all 23 James Bond movies. And you can cut and eat an entire pineapple in 21 minutes," Shawn defended walking towards Juliet so he could wrap an arm around her.

"So what's the story?" he asked kissing her cheekily.

"You know the cookie recipe I called my mom for. Well, I tried to make them, I really did, but I burned them and for some reason they were all salty. The recipe didn't even call for any salt… I shouldn't have tried. It's a fact I can't cook," Juliet explained.

Shawn chuckled and she could hear Gus laughing too. "That's okay, Jules, that's what you have us for now."

"Yeah, well, I stopped by Publix and got some gingerbread men," Juliet said handing the box over to Shawn.

"Oh, I love gingerbread men!" Shawn gasped whisking them away to the couch where he collapsed. Juliet followed him laughing when she saw Gus up on a ladder hanging garland around the room.

"He hasn't helped at all, has he?" she asked pulling a string of lights out of one the boxes.

"No, and he definitely won't now that he has those cookies." Gus glanced over at his best friend. "Thank God you're here now."

"I'll handle the Christmas music," Shawn offered around the head of a gingerbread men.

Hours later Gus and Juliet stood outside staring at the moon each eating a hard earned gingerbread man.

"We did good," Gus said glancing back at the decked out office.

"Oh, yeah this is probably the best decorated place in all of Santa Barbara," Juliet agreed. And it was; they'd even set a little nativity scene out in front of the building and lights were draped everywhere.

"This is amazing too," Gus said admiring the moon again.

"Yeah and it's not happening for another 400 years," Juliet sighed, "I can't believe Shawn fell asleep. Although when I first mentioned it to him he thought I was talking about that vampire movie."

"Typical," Gus laughed. He took another bite of the cookie before saying sincerely, "You know he loves you, right."

She glanced over at Gus surprised at the turn of the conversation. He was a good friend. She smiled. "I know. I love him too."

**To Anyone Who Cares: **Merry Christmas! or Happy [insert holiday here]! Yea, I'm actually on time for once! So I kind of hurried through this so I'm not sure. I went for a different approach this time with a little Gus/Juliet conversation. Hope you like it though! Remember, for best results read while eating gingerbread men. Thank you so much anonymous ,sparksfly16, frenchhornfreak, ArmyRoses, Juleskat101, DarkBrownEyes08, iknowuknow MaddyTaddy627, , disordered, iLoveRomance2010, Saoirse Driscoll, hidden magic, You-won't-see-an-iguana-here, sadiegrl,Harri85, Dakota Kent, xfirefly9x, and gnbrules for reviewing.


	12. Mac & Cheese

Midnight Snacks

**Disclaimer: **Um… supposedly I don't own Psych or any of the characters in it. Not yet, at least, [insert evil laugh].

**Summary:** Shawn and Juliet and their midnight rendezvous. Each one-shot centers around food. I will follow through with this case so it will be a 3-parter.

Macaroni & Cheese: "Shawn? Is that you?"

"Yeah, you should've seen the way that cashier looked at me. Like it's really weird to be buying a dozen boxes of Kraft mac and cheese at 1 in the morning," he rambled on as he rounded the corner into the kitchen.

He stopped dead as he entered and saw Juliet standing there, her gun now held at her side, eyes wild, and hands shaking. It was barely noticeable to the average person but this was Shawn and he was far from average.

"Jules?" he whispered softly, tenderly, comfortingly. She stared back at him, one lone tear running down her face.

With the same gentleness as his words Shawn took the gun from her and set it down on the counter. Then he pulled her into his arms and held her to him. For once in his life Shawn stayed silent, waiting patiently for Juliet to explain.

Finally with her words slightly muffled by Shawn's chest Juliet began, "Thank you for bringing my comfort food but Lassiter called a couple of minutes ago…" she sniffled, "there's been another murder, same guy…it's a four-year-old this time. Lassiter told me it's just a couple of blocks from here on San Roque Street we're supposed to meet him there," she backs out of Shawn's embrace, seemingly composed now.

"I was getting ready when you came in. Getting dressed, getting my gun," she motions to the object on the counter, "I'm sorry I just heard the door and freaked for a second."

"It's okay, Jules. I would've done the same thing except it would've been a water gun and I probably would shoot first, ask questions later. A little like Good, Old Lassie," Shawn admitted.

A hint of a smile flitted across Juliet's face. Once again she thanked God for Shawn's mostly pointless ramblings. "And that's why I have a gun and you don't."

Shawn grinned and clapped his hands, "Exactly, you are a smart cookie which is why I can promise you with one of those adorable little Maraschino cherries- that are really less like cherries and more like candy- on top that we will catch this creep of a murderer."

By the end of his little speech Juliet's small smile was back and there was a renewed fire in her eyes. "Thank you, Shawn," she whispered, leaning in to give him a quick kiss.

"Now," Shawn said as he grabbed a pot off the stove and began to fill it with water, "Lassie-Pants was just leaving his apartment when he called, right?" When Juliet nodded Shawn continued, "So he's probably still 20 minutes away even with his driving which gives you plenty of time to eat your mac and cheese and we can probably even beat him there."

Juliet just stood there staring at Shawn as he now opened the fridge and pulled the few ingredients he needed out. God, he was so amazing and most of the time it seemed like he wasn't even trying. He was just being himself and Shawn was amazing.

"Go one, get ready while I finish this," Shawn smirked when caught her staring at him.

She grinned. Shawn was right she was going to eat her comfort food and go out and hunt this guy down. Scurrying down the hall she threw an "I love you" over her shoulder.

"Love you too," Shawn replied, his brain cataloguing this as the sixth time they'd traded the words.

He carefully fixes her mac & cheese (she'd once told him that it tasted best when he made it and now he felt like he always has to uphold her expectations) while she dresses in her usual blouse and pencil skirt ensemble, grabs her badge, and keys.

When she returns to the kitchen Shawn is spooning the macaroni into two bowls. Seeing him and her comfort food for some inexplicable reason sends her back into her depression. She can't help but think that because they can't catch this pervert there are four little boys that will never have another bowl of mac and cheese or meet the loves of their lives.

"I grated extra cheese on it," Shawn offers when she sits down across from him without a word.

Her head shots up at his words and she smiles sadly at him, and eats a large spoonful.

"Perfect," she judges.

"Jules, we'll get him," he reassures again, "Now eat."

He promptly digs into his own saying after a couple spoonfuls, "This _is _perfect."

Juliet smiles at him again recognizing his attitude not as callousness but as a coping mechanism. And she knows, really _knows_ that not another child will die because she's on the case and he's on the case and they are going to nail this guy.

**To Anyone Who Cares: **So I'm going to try a little casefic 3-parter for something new. There will be action at some point. Hope you like it! Remember, for best results read while eating macaroni and cheese. Thank you so much 0Twisted-Symphony6, MissAwesomeness, dare-to-dream22, xpsychxssjs, Erin, anonymous, sparksfly16, frenchhornfreak, ArmyRoses, Juleskat101, DarkBrownEyes08, iknowuknow MaddyTaddy627, , disordered, iLoveRomance2o11, Saoirse Driscoll, hidden magic, You-won't-see-an-iguana-here, sadiegrl,Harri85, Dakota Kent, xfirefly9x, and gnbrules for reviewing.


	13. Turkey Sandwiches

Midnight Snacks

**Disclaimer: **Um… supposedly I don't own Psych or any of the characters in it. Not yet, at least, [insert evil laugh].

**Summary:** Shawn and Juliet and their midnight rendezvous. Each one-shot centers around food. This is a continuation of Mac & Cheese.

Turkey Sandwiches: "Jules?" Shawn asked when he answered his phone.

"Yeah, I got your message." she replied breathlessly, "Sorry we just left a meeting in the chief's office."

"It's fine. It just freaked me out a bit when you weren't answering. Call it irrational boyfriend of a detective syndrome," Shawn joked in a not-so-joking tone. "Anyways," he continued, "Gus and I are pulling in right now. We have sandwiches and a name we want you to check out."

"Okay, see you in a second," Juliet said closing her phone and joining Lassiter at the table of evidence. They had a section dedicated to each of the four children containing the child's picture and personal records, an article of clothing, background of parents, friends, teachers, and any one who came into contact with the kid, DVD recordings of any the conducted interviews, and all of the written statements.

Juliet glanced at it all cursorily. They had established that this was the work of a serial killer, a deeply perverted serial killer, since none of the kids had any connection with each other. All the victims were under the age of five. The killer's MO, the thing that clued the detectives in that this was one guy, was a small type written note left with the body saying that it was not his fault- the child had asked for it.

"Gus and Shawn are coming with dinner," Juliet said quietly to Lassiter. She was one of the few people that could see past his cold robotic exterior. This case was messing with him just as much as everyone else. "It's turkey sandwiches from the place around the corner and they think they might have something," Juliet continued.

"It can hardly be considered dinner when it's almost 12 o'clock," Lassiter responded acerbically. He turned to her quickly though and uttered a stiff but sincere apology.

"It's fine. I'm going to look back over all the statements," Juliet replied gathering the folders in her arms and retreating back to her desk.

Sitting back down she focused on the words before her. It wasn't hard, the station was eerily quiet. Not for a lack of people though because even though it was midnight it seemed everyone was here, here for the case. Children, the guy was butchering little kids. Little innocent kids with dreams and pretty pink bows and toy cars. Kids with no knowledge of the terrible, awful world they lived in.

"Buzz, we've got your meatball sub," Shawn's excited tone alerted her to the friends' arrival.

She watched as both he and Gus then passed by her desk to Lassiter's. "Lassie-Pants, your turkey sandwich on white bread with American cheese," Shawn dropped the sandwich on his desk, "I've got to say Lassie, that was the most boring sandwich I've ever ordered."

"Spencer," Lassiter growled warningly.

"Got it Grumpy Pants, leaving now," Shawn said walking backwards to Juliet's desk.

"And for you, my favorite detective, I have a turkey sandwich with pepperoni, pepper jack cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and jalapeños on 9-grain honey and oat bread _and _the name of one Charles Faraday," Shawn said holding the deli wrapped sandwich and business card out for her.

"Thank you Shawn, Gus," Juliet smiled up at them wearily setting the sandwich down on the side of her desk. She began typing on her computer no doubt pulling up anything and everything she could find about Mr. Faraday.

"Jules," Shawn said reaching across her desk and pulling her hand off the mouse.

"Shawn," she replied warningly.

"Eat. You're a great multi-tasker. You can eat your sandwich and search for him at the same time," his own gentle warning tone present in his words.

Juliet looked up to see Shawn staring back at her with that rare honest-to-God seriousness in his eyes.

"Please," slipped almost silently from his mouth and she was picking up the sandwich immediately.

Gus who had previously been silently observing now sat down and attempted some comedic relief. "You have to see Shawn's sandwich. The deli girl could barely fit everything let alone close it. I don't see how he's going to eat it."

"Don't be ridiculous, Gus. I'm a champion sandwich eater," Shawn scoffed sitting down in the other chair across from Juliet. Despite his joking manner his eyes remained trained on hers.

"Let me see it," Juliet asked a grateful smile tugging at her lips.

Shawn, sighing almost visibly of relief at Juliet's renewed spirit, laid his sandwich out on Juliet's desk and started unwrapping it.

Laughing sheepishly at sight of it Shawn defended, "I brought a spoon and fork."

"As long as you clean up the mess," Juliet smirked, "Is that 4 different types of meat?"

Gus answered drolly, "He told the girl he didn't want the turkey to be lonely."

Shawn rolled his eyes at Gus' obvious mockery and listed, "Turkey, ham, pepperoni, and salami. They had roast beef too but I thought that was a little overboard."

"Really?" Juliet and Gus both laughed.

Juliet took another bite of her sandwich before turning back to her computer. "So where'd you guys find this card?" she questioned suspiciously although at this rate Juliet was willing to do most anything to catch this guy.

"That's not really important, is it?" Shawn mumbled through a mouthful of sandwich.

Of course, he would know it didn't matter to her. The three continued eating in silence broken only when Juliet updated them with something she found with Mr. Faraday. none of them recognized the driver's license photo and from what she could tell the guy had a spotless record which she always saw as something suspicious.

"Detective Lassiter, O'Hara," the Chief called out stepping out of her office, "The father of the first victim, Derrek Nelson, called. He wants to talk to you."

"It's the middle of the night. Did he remember something?" Lassiter asked, ready to spring into action.

"He was unspecific but he sounded very distressed. Either way this department needs some good press. We need to be seen as very kind to the victim's families."

"Yes, Chief. O'Hara's checking out a name Spencer and Guster brought. Do you want me to wait for her," Lassiter questioned hopeful for someone more adept at handling the families than he was.

"Oh," she glanced over as Juliet's desk seeming to notice the two men for the first time. "Why don't you just take them with you? No one should be out there alone right now."

Lassiter scowled at Shawn and Gus who had both jumped up ready to follow him. "You're not taking those sandwiches in my car," Lassiter growled.

"Your wish is our command, Lassie," Shawn agreed a jocular smile in place.

"It _was_ a command," Lassiter barked already striding forward down the hallway.

Juliet grinned as Shawn and Gus scampered after him. Turning back to the chief, Juliet noticed the bag slung over her shoulder.

"Where are you going, Chief?"

"I'm going to stop by my house to change clothes and check on Iris and my husband," she responded, "I'll be back in about a half hour."

"Why don't you just go home for the night? Everything will still be here tomorrow," Juliet prompted kindly. She couldn't imagine how much worse this case would be if you had a kid.

"You and I both know I can't do that, O'Hara," Vick answered heavily as she began to walk away.

Returning to Mr. Faraday Juliet began looking through his bank records searching for any abnormalities. But for a man of 35 there seemed to be very little information, too little. It was looking more and more like Shawn had found something, not that she ever doubted him. There was still nothing to suggest he had murdered four children but any break in the case would be nice now.

It seemed he made a bank deposit a few days ago at the ATM on Roswell Street. Pulling up the video, Juliet fast forwarded through the footage until she reached the 2:28 deposit. She hit play and watched for one, two, three, four seconds before she jumped out of her chair.

"OmyGosh. OmyGoshOmyGoshOmyGosh,"she chorused as she yanked her keys, phone, and gun out of her desk drawer.

Juliet pressed the speed dial button for Lassiter as she ran down the hallway. Juliet listened to it ring as she burst through the doors. She heard Lassiter's disgruntled voice pick up as she tore down the steps. She began relaying what she had seen as she darted across the parking lot.

"Lassiter, I think you're heading into a trap. Charles Faraday is a false identity. It's Derrek Nelson's brother. The first victim's uncle is-"

It was dark, she forgot the chief's warning not to go out alone, and she didn't even see the other person in the parking lot.

Lassiter was already making an illegal u-turn when he heard Juliet's scream and the subsequent clatter of her phone hitting the ground.

**To Anyone Who Cares: **Yes, I am evil. I'll try to get part 3 to you ASAP. Hope you like it though! The next chapter will be called Chocolate Cake. Remember, for best results eat a turkey sandwich while reading. Thank you so much RunBabyRun8312, NobleCaliber (Thank you so much for the advice!) ,unpocoloco13, 0Twisted-Symphony6, MissAwesomeness, dare-to-dream22, xpsychxssjs, Erin, anonymous, sparksfly16, frenchhornfreak, ArmyRoses, Juleskat101, DarkBrownEyes08, iknowuknow, MaddyTaddy627, , disordered, iLoveRomance2o11, Saoirse Driscoll, hidden magic, You-won't-see-an-iguana-here, sadiegrl,Harri85, Dakota Kent, xfirefly9x, and gnbrules for reviewing.


	14. Chocolate Cake

Midnight Snacks

**Disclaimer: **Um… supposedly I don't own Psych or any of the characters in it. Not yet, at least, [insert evil laugh].

**Summary:** Shawn and Juliet and their midnight rendezvous. Each one-shot centers around food. This is a continuation of Turkey Sandwiches. I'M SO SO SORRY THIS HAS TAKEN SO LONG!

PREVIOUSLY: _Juliet pressed the speed dial button for Lassiter as she ran down the hallway. Juliet listened to it ring as she burst through the doors. She heard Lassiter's disgruntled voice pick up as she tore down the steps. She began relaying what she had seen as she darted across the parking lot._

"_Lassiter, I think you're heading into a trap. Charles Faraday is a false identity. It's Derrek Nelson's brother. The first victim's uncle is-" _

_It was dark, she forgot the chief's warning not to go out alone, and she didn't even see the other person in the parking lot. _

_Lassiter was already making an illegal u-turn when he heard Juliet's scream and the subsequent clatter of her phone hitting the ground._

Chocolate Cake: "Jules…" Shawn whispered into the empty apartment, the name slipping from his mouth like a prayer.

Standing there in the front foyer of the dark apartment, alone, the door just barely closed behind him, he broke down, alone. He had held himself together this long but now seen only by the pictures on the wall of a happy couple he dropped the act. Back pressed against the door, unable to go any further, Shawn slid to the floor with a soundless cry.

If someone had taken a picture of this moment, of this man, anyone viewing would've seen the depiction of an exhausted, scared man. They then would have commented on the way his hair stuck up in a bizarre pattern, a clear indication of the nervous habit of running his fingers through it; or the way his entire posture seemed defeated; or the way tears tracked down his face; or even on the disheveled appearance of his clothes. However only a very few, only those who had been in his state before, would know what had caused it, love, real, burn the world down for you, love.

Behind him someone knocked on the door. It was a tentative sound indicating that the knocker had a general idea of what was occurring on the other side of the door.

"I'll be out here, waiting," The strained voice announced. There was an unsaid, _take your time_ dangling at the end of the sentence.

-3 Hours Earlier-

"Shawn, call 911! Get an ambulance sent to the station," Lassiter ordered as he careened around the corner.

"Guster, pick up my radio," he continued to direct, "Yes, that one. Now hold up it up for me and press that button on the side."

"Officer in distress at 6149 Hindley Drive. Outside SBPD. Badge number 4486. Approach with caution. Suspect is likely armed." Lassiter spoke deliberately into the radio.

He veered around another car cursing them under his breath. It was 11 o' clock at night what were people even doing out on the road. There was no way in hell Lassiter was losing his partner because he couldn't drive fast enough.

Sure, he thought O'Hara was annoying sometimes. Far too cheerful and she had tendency to see him better than anyone else. But she was also the best partner he had ever had. She was a good shot, reliable, smart, hard-working, and strong. And he didn't think he had ever been this worried for another person in his entire life.

Behind him, he could hear, over the wail of the siren, Spencer giving the ambulance the directions. Lassiter hoped to God he didn't have to tell them who it was on the phone. It seemed that Spencer had some idea judging by the brief glance Lassiter caught of the ashen color of his face. But he knew Gus would have to ask. He could feel Gus' eyes trained on him, could practically hear the question on his lips.

Lassiter knew how much she meant to the both of them. God, she and Spencer had been living together for almost a year now. And he knew Gus considered her his sister.

"Lassiter? Who was that on the phone? Who's in trouble?" Gus questioned apprehensively.

He focused on keeping his face a hard mask as he destroyed their world, "O'Hara….."

* * *

"…O'Hara." the chief gasped in horror. Badge number 4486. She had literally left the station minutes ago. What had happened?

A lone image of the Junior detective clutching her chest, on the ground bleeding filled her head and she wished she could take back the question. She just felt horrified. Even knowing that other cops already at the station would have got the alert Karen sped to get back.

Even with her sirens on, the drive seemed torturous. Her thoughts were the worst of all. She couldn't get last year's tragic news story of a police station in Park City, Utah that was attacked by gunmen out of her head. 15 people were murdered there.

She radioed in, praying, "Chief Vick. ETA is two minutes. Requesting status of Badge number 4486…."

* * *

"…..Badge number 4486." Lassiter broadcasted over the radio. He kept speaking but Gus didn't hear anything after that. All he could focus on was the badge number. He couldn't for the life of him remember anyone's number. Not McNabb's, not the Chief's, and not even Juliet's. He would've given almost anything right then to have Shawn's photographic memory.

Gus turned slightly in his seat to glance back at Shawn but his head was angled towards the window where Gus couldn't see his face at all. Lassiter was no help either; his face was set in the usual rigid manner. Except for Lassiter's occasional curse neither man said anything. And that was unbearable for Gus. In his gut he had this terrible foreboding feeling but he had to know who it was.

The question finally spilled out of his mouth, "Lassiter? Who was that on the phone? Who's in trouble?"

"O'Hara."

Lassiter's toneless answer awakened a cold, aching fear in Gus. He whispered her name silently, fearfully, hopefully, "Juliet….."

* * *

"…..Juliet!" Buzz McNabb gasped. The broadcast continued but McNabb had stopped listening opting instead to run across the station towards the main doors. He was hardly aware of the several others who followed, all of them unclipping their guns from their belt.

He didn't need to know where the detective had gone since only a minute ago she had run past him. The moment he heard her badge number over the dispatch this agonizing desire to rewind time came over him. If only he could go back to that moment where she streaked past him and asked if she needed back-up or help or just anything to have stopped this from happening. He had thought of saying some such thing at the time but she looked like she was in such a hurry he had just let her go. Now, now he would've given anything to go back. He felt miserable.

Approaching the doors with caution, Buzz held his gun out in front of him with his hands gripping it tightly. The safety was off. He was nudging the door open when he heard the noise.

The sound of a gun being shot, a single shot. It was unreal, like a paralyzing nightmare.

Behind him, simultaneously, there was another sound. A radio squawking, "Chief Vick. ETA is two minutes. Requesting status of badge number 4486…."

* * *

"…..Badge number 4486."

A piece of Shawn died forever that night when he heard Lassiter say that number, her number. _Jules. _He could see every time he had seen her badge clipped to her belt, the number clear in his memory. The time he had helped her out with her reports and filled in the number on every blank that asked for it. He could hear every time she used the number over the dispatch.

The number was burned into his memory just like everything else. It was never more of a curse than it was right then. Shawn would've given anything to not know who the number belonged to, to not know who would be the recipient of the ambulance. He'd give anything for a couple more minutes of ignorance, a couple more minutes of hope.

"Hello, what's the nature of your emergency?" the 911 operator asked.

"Uh, It's a police emergency at the SBPD at 6149 Hindley Drive. There's an-" Shawn choked over the words, "injured detective at the scene. I don't presently know…her condition."

"Ok. Sir, we are sending an emergency response to the location."

He shut the phone fighting back the increasing nausea. His fear felt so tangible that it was suffocating him, pressing down on him. His gaze strayed to the window where everything whizzed past. They would be there soon and Jules would be fine. Shawn needed to believe that because he needed her….

* * *

… Her knees struck the pavement as she crumpled under the force of the blow to her head. Spots danced in her vision and a warm river of blood slid down the back of her neck and into her shirt.

She had heard people say before that everything happened in slow motion when you were attacked, when you were scrambling for your life. It wasn't like that at all. There was no slow motion, there was no elegance in the execution, and there was no confidence of survival. It was pure primordial desperation.

Juliet refused to die here in the parking lot.

She couldn't quite think clearly and everything took more effort than it should have. But she fought to stand back up reaching blindly, clumsily for the gun at her waist. He was right there in front of her waiting, watching. How had she not noticed him? A low guttural laugh mocked her attempts.

His meaty, child-killing hands shot out to take the gun from her. One hand wrapped around her forearm and the other pulled at the end of the gun. Juliet stood up the rest of the way now mainly from the momentum of his pull on her.

They stood both trying to wrench the gun from the other's grasp much like two children fighting over a new toy. Although Juliet had the better grip on it he was undoubtedly stronger. Whenever she made any progress he was right there to take it back from her.

It's the sound of sirens that finally saved her. Their piercing wail filled the air suddenly, so suddenly that he lost his focus for just a moment. A moment was all Juliet needed though.

She yanked the gun completely from his grasp and stumbled backwards away from him as he reached out for her again. Not that it mattered; the game was up for him.

Juliet flicked off the safety and squeezed the trigger. The bullet whizzed through the air and struck him in the knee. Juliet had no intention of giving the guy the satisfaction of death. No, he would suffer for the rest of his life in prison. She had an idea of what happened to child-killers there.

He hit the ground like a sack of potatoes groaning in agony. Juliet approached cautiously as she pulled out her cuffs, gun still at the ready. Up at the station, she could see a stream of cops running down the stairs with McNabb at the forefront.

"Move and I'll shoot again," Juliet threatened before she yanked both his arms behind his back and cuffed him, "Don't worry. I'm sure you won't bleed out before the ambulance gets here."

In truth, Juliet knew he most certainly would not bleed out from a shot to the knee but it felt good saying.

"Detective?" McNabb gasped as he came up right beside her. Relief covered his face like a blanket, "Are you okay?"

Juliet's hands were shaking and she felt a little dizzy but she was sure that was just a byproduct of the adrenaline coursing through her body. It was her head that she was a little worried about. It burned and throbbed painfully and she knew it was still bleeding. The desire to touch it was almost overwhelming but bringing that up could wait until the paramedics arrived.

"I'm fine. This is Jared Nelson, uncle of our first victim, a.k.a Charles Faraday a.k.a our kid killer," Juliet introduced.

"Nice," McNabb complemented holding out his hand for a high five. He then picked up his radio, "Badge number 4486, Detective O'Hara, is safe and secure. A Jared Nelson is in custody."

"Oh God," Juliet gasped, "McNabb, can I use your phone? I don't know where mine went and I was in the middle of a call with Lassiter when…" she trailed off looking at him expectantly.

He handed his over to her and offered, "I'll look around for yours."

"Thanks, Buzz," Juliet said gratefully. She moved a little away from the commotion of a couple of the officers moving the overly dramatic Nelson over to sit on the curb.

Now a small distance away from everyone, Juliet dialed Lassiter. While she waited for him to pick up, she tentatively touched the back of her head surprised to feel just how wet it was with blood. What had he hit her with anyway? Thanking God she was wearing black, Juliet wiped the blood off onto her pants.

"Detective Lassiter," he finally answered gruffly.

"Lassiter, it's me."

"Oh, O'Hara, We just heard over the radio. We're almost there. Are you okay?"

She paused trying to come up with an answer that wasn't a lie and wasn't the truth. Technically she was fine. She was standing upright and she hadn't been shot. Thankfully at that moment the Chief pulled into the parking lot.

"Look, Lassiter the Chief just got here so I have to go but what I was going to tell you was that somebody should still go to the Nelson's house and check on them. I have a feeling that they never called and it was only a way for Nelson to get us out of the station but just in case he did something to them," Juliet explained hastily hoping he wouldn't realize she had skirted his original question.

"Yeah, I'll send someone over there to check it out and let them know the situation," Lassiter replied, "And O'Hara, congratulations on Nelson."

"Thanks," Juliet smiled hanging up the phone.

A couple of ambulances had just pulled in and paramedics were unloading. It was a good thing too because Juliet was starting feel really nauseous, her head was aching, and her vision kept blurring.

She headed towards one of the paramedics shakily only to be intercepted by Chief Vick.

"I can't decide whether I am angry, proud, or just relieved, O'Hara," the Chief said. She turned back to look at the paramedics attending to Nelson and smiled.

"I'm think I'm going to stick with proud-" Juliet was feeling very unsteady on her feet. - "You did a good job tonight -" Her stomach rolled painfully.- "Just be careful next time-" She wasn't really hearing anything the chief said over the ringing in her ears.-"I want you to say something tomorrow during the press release."

Instead of the replying though, Juliet did basically the only thing she was capable of still doing, leaning over and vomiting. Chief Vick instantly launched into mommy mode grabbing Juliet's hair to pull it out of the way.

"Oh God, you're bleeding," the Chief gasped in horror pulling one of her hands out of the junior detective's hair.

"Hey, over here! She's got a head injury," Chief Vick yelled to the paramedics, beckoning them with frantic gestures.

Two of them looked up and noticing that the young detective was also retching onto the pavement, they ran over.

As they came Juliet stopped vomiting and straightened up a little.

"Thank you," Chief Vick said, "She's Detective O'Hara, the one who apprehended him. I wasn't here when it happened but she's got a bad gash on the back of her head. It's bleeding a lot."

"Okay," the women nodded.

Turning to Juliet, she pulled a penlight out of her belt. Speaking softly, she said, "Detective, I need you to look at me. I'm just going to do a preliminary check for a concussion."

"I feel-" Juliet started before fainting. When she began to crumble both paramedics grabbed her.

"We need a stretcher now!" ordered the man.

Moments before Juliet had lost consciousness, Lassiter pulled in. He hadn't even completely stopped the car when Shawn jumped out. He didn't see her at first since it was dark in the parking lot, the only light coming from the multitude of flashing emergency lights atop the squad cars and ambulances. So his first glimpse of Juliet was her collapsing.

"What happened! Lassiter just talked to her. He said she was fine," Shawn questioned desperately.

"I-I…They think she has a concussion," Chief Vick stumbled over her words.

"Are you her boyfriend?" the male paramedic asked as they put Juliet on the stretcher.

"Yes and her emergency contact," Shawn answered staring wide-eyed at the towel the woman was pressing against Juliet's head to sop up the blood.

"Do you want to come with us?" he asked considerately.

"Of course. How bad is it? 'Cause I love her," Shawn asked following after the stretcher.

"Head wounds bleed a lot so they generally look worse than they are and I'm thinking she just has a concussion but at the emergency room they'll be able to tell you more. I got to say she's pretty impressive. I was over with the guy she shot before and he made me nervous wounded and handcuffed," the guy explained good-naturedly.

"She is pretty awesome," Shawn agreed waiting to climb into the ambulance behind them.

"Shawn!" Gus yelled as he ran up to his friend, "We're going to meet you there. Okay. She'll be fine."

Shawn nodded, "Thanks buddy."

He climbed into the ambulance, the picture of calm and in control. The only give away was the slight tremor in his hands that really only a person with his gift would pick up on.

Ten minutes later, Shawn stood in the waiting room of the Santa Barbara Emergency Room waiting for news and company.

On the ride over, Juliet had woken up which had really reassured him. Then paramedics told them it would probably be ten or so stitches to her head and the doctors would want to run some tests to check her out. They seemed to think everything was fine though. So Shawn was just waiting.

Twenty minute later, Gus, Chief Vick, and McNabb had joined him. Lassiter had checked in for a status update then wandered off to find Nelson and get his confession. Not that they really needed it. They already had searched his apartment and had all the evidence to convict him on four counts of murder and one attempted murder.

The story went that Jared Nelson had recently moved back to Santa Barbara to be close to his brother's family, or so he had claimed. In actuality he was hiding out until "a situation" died down where he had previously been living under his false identity, Charles Faraday. Meanwhile, like any sociopath, he found a new hobby, murdering young children starting with his four-year-old niece. In the space of a month he killed the other three kids.

Tonight he had called Chief Vick impersonating his brother with the intention of trying to get both of the lead detectives on his case, Juliet and Lassiter, out of the department. Apparently Nelson knew that they had collected a few pictures of his last victim, Mackenzie Reynolds, taken her last day alive while she was at the park. The same park where Nelson had been picking his victims. He was somewhere in the background of almost all of the pictures. Nelson just needed to slip in and steal those out of the evidence box. He never would've managed it even if Juliet hadn't been there and figured it all out, but it seemed like Nelson had completely lost control of reality.

Almost a full hour passed, during which the four discussed the case and other unimportant matters, before they heard any news. Several times Shawn would say more for himself than for them that the paramedics said that Juliet's symptoms were indicative of the average concussion, nothing to worry about. His composure was nothing, if not impressive.

"Juliet O'Hara?" a nurse called out expectantly into the waiting room.

Jumping out of his seat, Shawn answered, gesturing at the other three, "That would be us. Do you have news?"

"Yes," she began reading off the charts in her hand, "They've got her all stitched up. It took twelve. When we release her, the doctor will give you a prescription for some painkillers and let you know when to come back to have the stitches taken out. She does have a concussion so we want to keep her overnight for surveillance. The tricky part is due to placement of the injury we also need to keep her awake for at least a twelve hour period."

Shawn nodded, taking it all in, "That will be hard. With this case she hasn't had much sleep in a while."

"We are aware of that which is why the standard visiting hours won't apply for her. We were hoping someone would stay here and help her stay awake," the nurse continued.

"Of course," Shawn agreed readily, "I love slumber parties."

"We'll stay awhile," Gus, McNabb, and the Chief seconded.

"Good. Come on, I'll take you to her," she offered all smiles turning down a hallway, "I've got to tell you. I really admire her. I have a three-year-old daughter at home. It's a relief knowing just one psycho is off the streets."

"She's a great detective," Chief Vick smiled.

"Jules," Shawn exclaimed when they walked into the room.

She sat under the covers in her hospital gown with her blonde hair down around her shoulders and a relieved smile on her face. She looked like a child in those few moments.

He bounded over to her bed with the others behind them, "Hey." He wrapped his arms around her and breathed her in.

"I love you," he whispered into her ear before pulling back to kiss her gently.

"Love you too," she grinned, staring at him with a weighted look trying to tell him that she was still here and she wasn't going to go anywhere.

He nodded imperceptibly. "I know."

He moved back to let the others see her but his eyes stayed trained on her. There was an irrational part of him that feared this was all a dream and in the blink of an eye instead of staring at her, he'd be staring at a tombstone with her name.

The other three hugged her. Chief Vick let her know that Lassiter and some others were coming too.

They all pulled chairs up to her bed, Shawn's at the head where he held her hand, and began to each tell how their story of the night went.

"And then I saw McNabb and the others running out," Juliet finished some time later.

"You have no idea how much I freaked when I heard that gunshot," McNabb laughed.

Lassiter had entered several minutes before and also pulled a chair up. Nelson was just getting out of surgery apparently and later when he had properly recovered he'd be moved to the county jail until his trial.

"You're feeling okay, right? 'Because I need you back soon. I don't want to have to fill out all that paperwork myself," Lassiter said trying not to sound like he cared too much.

"Oh, come on, Tin Man just admit you have a heart," Shawn joked.

"I'm fine, Lassiter. Promise," she told him then turning to Shawn she asked, But, Shawn I was wondering if you could go to the apartment and bring me back some of my clothes and my toothbrush."

He squeezed her hand while Gus chirped in with an, "Of course, I'll drive him over." There was a very adamant part of Shawn that refused to leave her side. He let go though and stood up.

"I'll bring some pjs and change of clothes for the morning. What do you want?"

"Hm. The blue pants-"

"The ones with the stars?" Shawn asked.

"Yeah, those and just any t-shirt. And, um, you know, the clothes I had laid out for tomorrow? Bring those, just switch the skirt for pants. Maybe the-"

"Longer black ones. Yeah, I've got it," he grinned and kissed her forehead, "We'll be right back."

Lassiter shuddered: they still creeped him out sometimes. Finishing each others sentences, being domestic, and kissing, Ugh. She was happy though. He watched the way her eyes followed him leave the room, the way her smile spread across her entire face; she was very happy. And Shawn was good to her, good for her.

"How are _you?_" Gus asked once they were out in the hospital parking lot. He had known Shawn his entire life.

"I was thinking on our way back we should pick up some kind of treat to bring back to turn this little thing into a party," Shawn suggested climbing into the passenger side of the Blueberry.

"Shawn, I'm serious," Gus sighed.

"Maybe Chocolate cake. Jules loves this little local cake shop near our apartment. Yeah, let's do that. We could all use some cake," Shawn continued, refusing to acknowledge Gus' concern.

"Fine, we won't talk about it," Gus said turning the car on.

Except for the radio, the ride over was silent which, in hindsight, Shawn realized was a terrible idea. Alone, with his thoughts, all he could think about was being alone, without her. He tried to reconcile the feelings, he did. She was still here, more than that, she was fine. But for those few terrifying moments in which Shawn wasn't sure, he had to imagine a life without her. And the fact was he didn't know how he could survive. She was everything to him.

"I was going to propose on Sunday. I had it all planned out but then she was so upset about this case I decided to wait until it was over," Shawn finally said staring straight in front of him.

"I know. You told me."

"What if she…," he couldn't even bring himself to say it out loud, "What if I never got to. That was one of the only things I could think about when we were with Lassiter. That I might not ever get to marry her."

He was silent for a moment, thinking as he continued to stare out in front of him. It was hard enough but he couldn't look at Gus too while he admitted all of this. They were at the apartment now, just sitting in the car with nothing but the light from the moon.

"I don't even know when I became that guy," Shawn said, "I'm going to go up and get the stuff. You can stay here."

And he did. He sat there and thought of everything Shawn had said then he thanked God Juliet was alive. It took him a couple of minutes before he was able to make his way up the stairs and knock on the door.

Gus waited a minute before knocking again, this time saying, "I'll be out here, waiting." He backed away from the door and did just that, wait. Shawn needed time to himself where he didn't have pretend he was okay, didn't have to smile.

When Shawn opened the door and walked out with a bag of Juliet's things in hand, Gus isn't sure how much time has passed mostly because he fell asleep while waiting but he does know what to say.

"I think that double chocolate cake would be best," he said with meaning.

Shawn smiled grateful that Gus doesn't mention the breakdown they both know he had in the apartment, "Good plan. Wait, let me run back in and get it."

Shawn ran back into the apartment and this time Gus followed him in. He looked quizzically at the unopened double chocolate cake box and asked, "Is it not a little odd that you just have a cake sitting in here?"

"It was for your surprise birthday party in a couple of weeks," Shawn headed back for the door the cake cradled in his hands, "Which you're not supposed to know about."

"I'll act surprised," Gus laughed.

"It won't matter. She'll know I told you. Jules can spot a bluff a mile away. Anyway you remember what happened last year with the cake so this year we got it early…Don't worry buddy I'll get you a new cake."

"It's fine. I'm pretty sure we could all use some chocolate cake tonight," Gus joked.

So at 2:15 in the morning, Shawn and Gus sauntered into Juliet's hospital room, now packed with officers, with chocolate cake in hand. It was like an SBPD hospital party.

"Hey," Shawn said gaining the attention of everyone in the room, "Tonight our very own beautiful, genius, funny, gun-wielding Detective Juliet O'Hara brought down Jared Nelson and for that, my friends, we must celebrate. Cake for everyone!"

Everyone clapped in agreement while Shawn placed the box and a stack of paper plates and plastic utensils on the table.

Quickly, as others began to converge around the cake, Shawn cut a large piece and plopped it onto a plate. Shuffling through the room, Shawn stopped before Juliet's bed.

"Scoot over or I won't share," he teased.

She grinned up at him and slid over, patting the empty space, "Now give me cake."

It was a relief to have him right there pressed against her, one of his arms draped around her. Almost the instant he had left to get her stuff she regretted it. Somebody else could've gone. Right then and now she needed Shawn.

"You brought my stuff?" she asked, mouth full of chocolatey goodness.

"Yeah, It's over there on the shelf," he pointed to the gym bag.

Juliet set down the fork for a moment and stared at Shawn, almost forgetting all the other people.

"Thank you for being you, for loving me, for being wonderful and funny,-"

"And manly," Shawn cut in.

She laughed, "Of course, that was next on the list."

"Jules, just be more careful, please," Shawn said earnestly while tucked a piece of her blonde hair behind her ear.

"I could say the same thing to you," Juliet replied revealing her own fear about his safety.

"True," he said softly going back to his cake. It was a void topic. They both loved this job. As long as they both knew how much they meant to each other.

Several bites later, Juliet paused with the fork midway to her mouth, "This is Gus' cake, isn't?"

"Yeah, we needed it though. Where else was I going to get cake in the middle of the night," Shawn rationalized, "I'll get a new one tomorrow."

"You told him about the party too, didn't you," she asked, a smirk, much like his dancing across her face.

Shawn looked down sheepishly and hurriedly admitted, "He promised to act surprised."

Juliet laughed, "We're even now. I accidentally told him what his present is."

"Wow. We are quite the pair," He chuckled then kissing her lightly on the forehead, he asked bluntly as if it were the natural progression of the conversation, "Marry me?"

Her heartbeat skyrocketed but she calmly, just as bluntly as him, said, "Sure," then continued without pause to eat the cake.

Shawn slid the ring on her finger with only a smile and then also returned to the cake.

They were engaged as simple as that in a hospital room in the middle of the night with chocolate cake and all of their colleagues and friends.

**To Anyone Who Cares: **Again, I am sooooo sorry this so long! I should be tarred and feathered. It just took me forever and I kept running into problems with it (and still not sure I like it). And then it just kept getting longer and longer. Anyways I'm sorry again and I hope it's okay. I really tried to start it with a gloomy beginning. Anyway I hope you like it. Remember, for best results eat chocolate cake while reading. Thank you so much 2016consarm, WillowEchoRiver, , Foxwithgrayeyes, Surreal Squirrel, Wragziez, hoodnmazalways, soccerwriter, RunBabyRun8312, NobleCaliber, unpocoloco13, 0Twisted-Symphony6, MissAwesomeness, dare-to-dream22, xpsychxssjs, Erin, anonymous, sparksfly16, frenchhornfreak, ArmyRoses, Juleskat101, DarkBrownEyes08, iknowuknow, MaddyTaddy627, , disordered, iLoveRomance2o11, Saoirse Driscoll, hidden magic, You-won't-see-an-iguana-here, sadiegrl,Harri85, Dakota Kent, xfirefly9x, and gnbrules for reviewing.


	15. Blueberry Pancakes

Midnight Snacks

**Disclaimer: **Um… supposedly I don't own Psych or any of the characters in it. Not yet, at least, [insert evil laugh].

**Summary:** Shawn and Juliet and their midnight rendezvous. Each one-shot centers around food. Reference to the pilot episode and Spellingg Bee.

Blueberry Pancakes: "Shawn? What's this about? What could be so important that I had to take off my pjs and put clothes on to meet you at," Juliet glanced at her watch, "11:30."

Juliet stood at the head of the table stubbornly refusing to sit down until she had some idea of why her boyfriend of four months had called her in the middle of the night and demanded to see her immediately.

They were in a little late night diner that she had agreed to meet him at. When she arrived, Shawn had already been seated in a corner booth where he was fidgeting nervously with his trademark crawling snake straw wrapper.

"Sorry. I really needed to tell you this before I lost my nerve," Shawn apologized, looking up at her with puppy dog eyes.

"Can you just sit down and listen?" he pleaded.

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "This better be good," Juliet warned, sliding into the booth across from him.

Shawn nodded. "You need to hear this." The solemnity of the words were detracted by the fact that Shawn's gaze was focused somewhere behind Juliet. She turned in her seat curious as to what had caught his attention.

A waitress was walking over to their table with a plate stacked high with pancakes.

"Seriously, Shawn?" Juliet asked incredulously, "If this is why I'm here, I'm leaving right now."

"No," he said, shaking his head, wishing that pancakes were really the only reason he had called her, "No. I do have something I need to tell you and your probably not going to like it. But, Jules, there is a bright side to everything, a silver lining to every cloud- the blueberry pancakes here are like manna from heaven. Just better."

"He's right, Hon," the waitress agreed, setting a plate in front of Juliet.

"Thank you," Juliet told her. She eyed Shawn who was forking pancakes onto his plate with his eyes cast down. She wasn't that worried about his avoidance though; it was only too often that he was up to some mischief that he hid from her. So she brushed her nerves off and followed his lead by pulling two pancakes onto her plate.

She ate the first begrudgingly, still a little irritated. The second one she thoroughly enjoyed. Of course, Shawn would know which restaurant had the best pancakes. Juliet glanced up from her plate at him wondering why he had yet to say "I told you so". Shawn was bent over his pancakes, drenching them in syrup, silent. Another glance, this time at her watch, told her that he had been eating in silence for over fifteen minutes. Throughout her years of knowing Shawn, Juliet didn't think she had ever witnessed Shawn go a full minute completely silent. It was her first realization of how serious this must be.

"Shawn, please just tell me what's going on," Juliet begged, reaching across the table to lay her hand over his, "I'm here willing to listen but that means you have to be willing to talk."

"Of course. I know that," Shawn said, trying to laugh his silence off.

He set his fork down and finally looked her in the eye. "This is going to sound really bad just let me explain first. Okay?"

"Just get on with it, Shawn," Juliet said impatiently.

"I've been lying to you since the day we met," he paused, waiting for her to respond, maybe, to yell or to demand answers or… to say something, anything. She stayed silent though and somehow that seemed so much worse.

Her eyes flickered back and forth trying discern if he was joking or serious. The truth was she was a little terrified that next thing he said could ruin everything between them. So for just a moment they traded places and it was her joking and him serious. It was easier. It was a form of protection.

"If you're talking about not being able to bowl, Shawn, I know," Juliet said, trying brush off his words. She's more like him than most people think.

"No," he shook his head, "You have to understand I had to make something up quick. They were going to arrest me and I saw the guys in there. They all looked like they could kill me with one hand behind their back. I didn't want to tell them the truth and I'm not sure they would've even believed it. Sometimes I think it sounds more far-fetched than being a psychic."

"What?" Juliet asked, unable to follow his frantic words.

"I'm not… Jules, I'm not a psychic," Shawn admitted in broken, ashamed words. He hung his head ready for the fallout.

Shawn had imagined for years all the different scenarios of how this conversation would go. Tears, screams, exposing him as a fraud, breaking up with him. In his mind it was all very dramatic; in reality, it was anything but. She was laughing at him.

"Jules, I'm not a psychic," Shawn said slowly.

"Of course, you aren't," Juliet replied, rolling her eyes. When he continued to stare at her with a genuinely bewildered expression she continued, "Shawn, everyone knows you're not a psychic, I mean mostly everyone, except that no one can prove it and why would they want to. You're good. I thought you knew this. I just figured one day you were going to tell me how you know everything."

"Seriously. I mean I know Lassiter thinks I'm full of crap and the Chief has an idea but you too?" Looking back it did seem a little egotistical to imagine that everyone believed his crazy act.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, Shawn. I've never believed in psychics. We just let it go because you solve cases. You could always tell me how you really do it though, the true story," Juliet suggested taking advantage of Shawn's shock.

"Yeah, of course," Shawn shook his head, trying to rid it of the cobwebs, "That was just so anticlimactic. My dad wanted me to be the perfect cop…"

Juliet leaned forward and listened attentively as Shawn told his story, the full, true story.

An hour and another helping of pancakes later, Shawn had finished his story but Juliet was still excitedly asking every question she could think of.

"So Gus knows?"

"Yeah. When we were still in school he'd use me to help him study," Shawn said, remembering the spelling bee, "Not that I was all that helpful."

"So you have a photographic memory and your super observant. It might not have seemed like it at the time but you realize your dad gave you gift, right?" Juliet asked tentatively, knowing what sore subject their relationship was.

"Sometimes it hits me," Shawn agreed quietly before smirking, "Just think you never have to worry that I'll forget any birthdays or anniversaries."

Juliet smiled softly at him. He was so worth the chance she had taken. "Thank you for telling me, Shawn."

**To Anyone Who Cares: **I've been wanting to do a Shawn Tells Juliet the Truth one for a while now and finally got around to it. Except that I didn't want to use the normal she gets mad route so I went with this. I'm not sure about how it turned it though. It just seems kind of lame. Anyway I hope you like it. Remember, for best results eat blueberry pancakes while reading. Thank you so much Princess Cinnabun, 2016consarm, WillowEchoRiver, , Foxwithgrayeyes, Surreal Squirrel, Wragziez, hoodnmazalways, soccerwriter, RunBabyRun8312, NobleCaliber, unpocoloco13, 0Twisted-Symphony6, MissAwesomeness, dare-to-dream22, xpsychxssjs, Erin, anonymous, sparksfly16, frenchhornfreak, ArmyRoses, Juleskat101, DarkBrownEyes08, iknowuknow, MaddyTaddy627, , disordered, iLoveRomance2o11, Saoirse Driscoll, hidden magic, You-won't-see-an-iguana-here, sadiegrl,Harri85, Dakota Kent, xfirefly9x, and gnbrules for reviewing.


	16. Klondike Bars

Midnight Snacks

**Disclaimer: **Um… supposedly I don't own Psych or any of the characters in it. Not yet, at least, [insert evil laugh].

**Summary:** Shawn and Juliet and their midnight rendezvous. Each one-shot centers around food.

Klondike Bars: "Jules?" Shawn asked, answering his phone as he walked across the parking lot.

"Just making sure you were still alive. You know, that you didn't fall asleep at the wheel or anything like that. When I said I was craving a Klondike I didn't mean for you to actually go get them that instant. It's the middle of the night!" Juliet exclaimed, trying not to sound too pleased. She didn't think most husbands ran out at two in the morning to buy a box of Klondike bars for their wife.

"Of course I had to," Shawn laughed, "You're pregnant." His dad, Chief Vick, and Buzz had all warned him that when your pregnant wife asks for something you get it no matter what time it is.

After a beat of silence from Juliet's end of the phone, Shawn admitted sheepishly, "Plus, Jules, I just couldn't get their chocolately ice cream goodness out of my head after you mentioned them."

Shawn sang the little tune as he walked into the small 24-hour drugstore, "What would you dooo for a Klondike bar?"

Juliet chuckled. "I love you Shawn."

"Love you too," Shawn replied earnestly, grinning sappily, "I'm in the store now. I'll be home in a few minutes."

"Ok. Bye," Juliet said.

"Bye." Shawn shut his phone returning it to his pocket still grinning from ear to ear.

The cashier, an older gentleman, having overheard his conversation, was smiling congenially at him. Shawn glanced over at him and explained, "My wife," and then because there wasn't a person in Santa Barbara that Shawn hadn't told, "She's pregnant."

"Your first?" he asked kindly.

"Yes," Shawn replied as he walked to the freezer section, "I'm sure it's going to be girl."

"Girls are great. I have two and one boy. Of course, mine are all grown up. The oldest even has a kid of her own," the man told Shawn.

Shawn grabbed a box of double chocolate Klondike's from the freezer, "Three kids. We haven't decided how many we want yet." He returned back to the front of the store, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket.

"That's fine. It's really a learn as you go thing anyway," the man assured, scanning the Klondike's. Like every stereotypical grandfather he asked, "Do you want to see pictures?"

"Sure," Shawn agreed readily, leaning against the counter as the man slid the wallet photos towards him.

"That one's my wife with our grandson," he said proudly, tapping one of the photos.

"Oh, here," Shawn exclaimed, "You have to see my family too." Shawn tugged a picture of Juliet out of his wallet and handed it to the man.

"And then there's this," Shawn said, pulling out another photo to give the man. It was a wallet-sized sonogram photo.

"Oh, how wonderful," the man said admiring the pictures.

"To be honest it just looks like an alien to me," Shawn remarked only half joking, "It'll be fine though as long _she_ has me and wife's stunning good looks."

The man laughed heartily, "Your wife is beautiful."

"As is yours," Shawn praised, returning the man's pictures and paying for the Klondike's.

"Here you go. You don't want to keep her waiting on these," he joked, giving Shawn his pictures and the box of Klondike's.

"True," Shawn agreed, "It was nice talking to you."

"You too," he said, waving as Shawn left the store.

He shuffled across the dark parking lot. It had occurred to him while he was talking to the man just how much he had changed in nine years. Back when he still serial dated and changed professions and states monthly Shawn never would have believed he would be the kind of guy to settle down. Turned out he was, not only that, but he loved it. And it wasn't like he had changed all that much, the motorcycle he was getting on was a testament to that fact. He was still Shawn Spencer, just better.

PSYCHPSYCH

Juliet muted the TV when she heard the front door opening.

"Shawn?" she called from their bedroom.

"Yeah, hold on," Shawn answered. She listened to him open and close the freezer before he entered the bedroom.

He stood leaning in the doorway, two Klondike's and a wad of napkins in his hand, staring at her adoringly.

"What kind did you get?" she asked, curiously.

"Double chocolate," Shawn smirked, "Your favorite."

"Thank you," Juliet said, patting the bed, "Are you just keep standing there or you going to join me?"

"Of course," Shawn laughed, shaking himself out of it. He padded across the room and jumped onto their bed like a child.

"What are we watching?" Shawn questioned, handing her one of the Klondike bars and some napkins while looking at the TV screen displaying only commercials.

"Dirty Dancing," she answered, snuggling into his side.

"Oh," Shawn exclaimed happily, "I haven't missed 'Nobody puts Baby in the corner' yet, have I?"

"Nope it's coming up though," Juliet replied, taking a bite of her Klondike, "Oh, this was exactly what I needed."

"Hmm. It is heavenly," Shawn agreed, licking at his.

When he finished the delicious treat, Shawn settled further into the bed next to Juliet. Tentatively, he rested a hand on her growing stomach and left it there. He could see her smiling at him out of the corner of his eye. Shawn loved his life.

**To Anyone Who Cares: **I wasn't sure about this one so I hope you like it. Remember, for best results eat a Klondike bar while reading. Thank you so much Princess Cinnabun, 2016consarm, WillowEchoRiver, , Foxwithgrayeyes, Surreal Squirrel, Wragziez, hoodnmazalways, soccerwriter, RunBabyRun8312, NobleCaliber, unpocoloco13, 0Twisted-Symphony6, MissAwesomeness, dare-to-dream22, xpsychxssjs, Erin, anonymous, sparksfly16, frenchhornfreak, ArmyRoses, Juleskat101, DarkBrownEyes08, iknowuknow, MaddyTaddy627, dramacticwriting 101 happyendingz, disordered, iLoveRomance2o11, Saoirse Driscoll, hidden magic, You-won't-see-an-iguana-here, sadiegrl,Harri85, Dakota Kent, xfirefly9x, and gnbrules for reviewing.


	17. Chicken Noodle Soup

Midnight Snacks

**Disclaimer: **Um… supposedly I don't own Psych or any of the characters in it. Not yet, at least, [insert evil laugh].

**Summary:** Shawn and Juliet and their midnight rendezvous. Each one-shot centers around food.

Chicken Noodle Soup: "Shawn?" Juliet called out into the dark house.

She had just returned to Santa Barbara after a three-day convention several counties away. The chief had sent her best team, meaning that for three days the only familiar face Juliet had was Lassiter's. Yes, he was an excellent partner but absolutely terrible company.

"Jules! You're back!" Shawn's excited reply came from their bedroom in the back of the house.

At least that's what she though he said. In reality it had sounded a little more like, "Ules! -Sniffle- ur ba-Achoo!"

"You sound worse than you did this morning on the phone," Juliet said sympathetically.

She dropped her bags in the hallway and walked into their bedroom. Shawn was in the bed, blankets pulled up high around him despite the fact that it was the middle of July, surrounded by enough used tissues to kill a forest. The glow of the TV screen cast a blue light on his face yet Juliet could still see that his nose was cherry red and his eyes were bloodshot.

"Eh fel- Achoo!- orse," Shawn choked out. Juliet interpreted it to mean, "I feel worse."

"Oh, Shawn. I'm so sorry," Juliet gushed, sitting down on the edge of the bed. She tenderly pressed the back of her hand to his forehead.

"You feel pretty hot," Juliet said, "I'm going to get you some water. You need to keep hydrated. Is there anything else you need- more tissues or maybe some chicken noodle soup?"

"Ust ch- sniffle-en nooble- Achoo- up." Shawn wiped halfheartedly at his nose before attempting a joke, "Obiousbe, I ave- sniffle- eoughb issues."

Translation: Just chicken noodle soup. Obviously, I have enough tissues.

"Ok, Hon. It'll take just a minute." Juliet patted his leg and turned to leave.

"Tank eu. Hud on," Shawn said, waving one of his hands at her. Juliet stopped at the door looking at him quizzically. When he seemed satisfied that she was staying where she was, Shawn started loudly blowing his nose in a tissue. Finished, he looked back at her with these sad, imploring eyes and begged in an almost clear voice, "Please, don't ever leave me again."

"Never," Juliet promised, not even sure if she could keep it.

Juliet smiled sadly at him before leaving the room and slipping into the kitchen. As she flicked the light switch to the kitchen on, she prepared herself for a giant mess but instead found the kitchen practically immaculate. Either Shawn had actually tried to clean up after himself or he'd been so sick he hadn't used the kitchen at all. Juliet chose option two as the most likely scenario.

Turning on the stovetop, Juliet peered into the medicine cabinet looking for the Nyquil. Next she found the can of Campbell's chicken noodle soup which she dumped into one of the pots they had gotten as a wedding gift and set it on the stove. As she waited for that to begin simmering, Juliet poured him a glass of water.

Only then when she had completed all the little mundane tasks did she allow herself to think about what Shawn had said. How much she had missed him, how much she had hated being away herself. She couldn't quite even say when he had come to mean so much to her, when being without him became something akin to a black vortex of miserableness. She was certain though that it had happened long before they started dating. She loved him.

"Here you go," Juliet said, handing him a Nyquil and the water, "It's a Nyquil. It'll really help you sleep tonight."

She hated when he was sick. He just looked so un-Shawn. He was so submissive and quiet. After watching him take the pill, she navigated around the tissues back to the door.

"I'm going to get the soup. Be right back," Juliet said, only then realizing how much she sounded like her mother.

Minutes later when she returned to their room with a bowl for the both of them, she almost did it again, just resisting the urge to say, "Careful, it's hot."

Shawn groaned a little dramatically as he pushed himself up on the pillows and took the bowl from her.

"What are you watching?" Juliet asked, trying to discern if any of the characters on the screen looked familiar to her.

"Da Mntlis. –Sniffle- It's actbly good. I reaby -Achoo- outchd da erst –Sniffle- eason. I'm miday –Sniffle- true da ecomb," Shawn answered, eating some of his soup.

Translation: The Mentalist. It's actually good. I already watched the first season. I'm midway through the second.

"Ok. Soup good?" Juliet asked, watching his face.

"Es. –Achoo- But cambt asbe it," Shawn replied, attempting a grateful smile.

Translation: Yes. But I can't taste it.

"You still need to eat something though," Juliet urged kindly. She slipped onto their bed, her soup in hand, and scooted real close up against Shawn. She sighed in pleasure. She was finally where she wanted to be.

"Ules, -Achoo- Onb't get –Sniffle, Sniffle- clobe. U'll gebt ick," Shawn warned.

Translation: Jules, Don't get close. You'll get sick.

"I've been away for three days, Shawn. Now I am going to cuddle next to my husband," Juliet told him firmly, snuggling even closer.

"I lobe ew." Shawn's foot played with hers under the blankets.

Translation: I love you.

**To Anyone Who Cares: **I hope you like it. Remember, for best results eat chicken noodle soup while reading. I'll probably do a follow-up eventually with her sick, maybe ginger ale or toast or something. I just started a honey mustard pretzel one recommended by booksandbeachgirl so that should be done soonish. Thank you so much booksandbeachgirl, psychlover23, Princess Cinnabun, 2016consarm, WillowEchoRiver, , Foxwithgrayeyes, Surreal Squirrel, Wragziez, hoodnmazalways, soccerwriter, RunBabyRun8312, NobleCaliber, unpocoloco13, 0Twisted-Symphony6, MissAwesomeness, dare-to-dream22, xpsychxssjs, Erin, anonymous, sparksfly16, frenchhornfreak, ArmyRoses, Juleskat101, DarkBrownEyes08, iknowuknow, MaddyTaddy627, dramaticwriting 101 happyendingz, disordered, iLoveRomance2o11, Saoirse Driscoll, hidden magic, You-won't-see-an-iguana-here, sadiegrl,Harri85, Dakota Kent, xfirefly9x, and gnbrules for reviewing.


	18. Pretzels

Midnight Snacks

**Disclaimer: **Um… supposedly I don't own Psych or any of the characters in it. Not yet, at least, [insert evil laugh].

**Summary:** Shawn and Juliet and their midnight rendezvous. Each one-shot centers around food. Reference to You Can't Handle This Episode.

Pretzels: 

"Shawn? What are you doing?" Juliet asked groggily, just waking up. Shawn, from the window seat, was leaning over Juliet waving his hand like a crazy person into the aisle trying to attract the attention of a flight attendant. A glance at her watch told her it was 2:19 in the morning, too early for this.

The couple was on American Airlines flight 1254, destination Miami, Florida, better known as Juliet's family. That was what Juliet attributed Shawn's erratic behavior to. It would be his first time meeting her parents and her other two brothers, David and Charlie. They had bought the tickets and made the arrangements three months ago to spend Christmas there. Shawn had been absolutely fine then, as well as, in the following months. He had even been fine when they were on the 45-minute flight from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles. It was during the 3-hour wait between flights that it suddenly hit him. It had been as sudden as the flick of a switch. He had gone from normal crazy Shawn to out-of-control crazy in minutes.

He backed up now into his own seat sheepishly. "Sorry, Jules, I didn't mean to wake you up," Shawn apologized.

"What were you trying to do then?" Juliet asked snappily.

Shawn's feet tapped a nervous rhythm on the floor as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"I needed more pretzels," Shawn whined.

Juliet looked over at Shawn's pull out table where at least eight empty bags of Snyder's Homestyle pretzels laid.

"More?" Juliet asked incredulously.

"Hello again, Mr. Spencer," the flight attendant said a hint of annoyance in her tone.

"Shawn," he corrected.

"Shawn, what can I do for you?" she tried again, the annoyance obvious now.

"Can you get me another bag of pretzels?"

"I'm sorry." She didn't seem the slightest bit sorry. "We're out of the Homestyle kind," she told him flatly.

Shawn sat there for a moment in still silence as if he had just been told there were no more pineapples on earth. "Oh," he finally said slowly, "What other kinds do you have?"

The attendant visibly sighed, her shoulders drooping in defeat. Juliet looked up at her trying to convey a look of apology. Although this was the woman's job she could have a better attitude about it. It made Juliet wonder if something else had gone on while she was asleep.

"Hold on, let me check on that for you," she said in a mock polite voice.

"Shawn, maybe you can calm down a little," Juliet suggested, only half joking.

"What? What do you mean? I'm fine," Shawn defended. The words held no credibility though since they sounded like they were coming out of the mouth of a seven year old jacked up on sugar.

The attendant dragged herself back in front of them and said drolly, "All we have are the Honey Mustard & Onion kind. Is that okay?"

"No. No. No," Shawn moaned, his voice rising hysterically, "Do you know what that does to a person's breath. Are you positive that's the only kind? You don't have the Barbeque, Cheddar cheese, or the Jalapeño kind?"

"Yes, I'm sure," she said, shooting a glare at Juliet like it was her job to control Shawn.

"Really? You don't want to go check again?" Shawn suggested.

"Shawn!" Juliet threatened, "Just get him the Honey Mustard ones please."

"I'll be right back with those," she said, stalking off.

"Juuules," Shawn moaned pitifully.

Juliet used the time turning to face Shawn to remind herself that he was just nervous about her parents. Patience was a hard thing to remember around him though. "I have gum you can chew. You're breath will be fine."

"Oh, you're a lifesaver!" Shawn exclaimed, kissing Juliet. Standing up, he made to move past Juliet but she adamantly kept her feet in his way.

"Where are you going?" she asked suspiciously.

"The little boy's room. The pretzels made me drink a lot of water," Shawn explained.

Juliet sighed and lowered her feet, letting him inch past her. "Go there and come right back," she instructed. If he was going to act like a child, she would treat him like one.

"Silly Jules, where else would I go?" he asked jokingly. There was no way she would answer that question and give him ideas.

She turned around in her seat and watched Shawn half-walk/half dance down the aisle. When he got back she resolved to talk to him.

"Here are your-" the flight attendant began before realizing that Shawn was no longer there, "Here are his pretzels."

Juliet took them from her gratefully. "Look, I'm sorry he's been driving you crazy. He's meeting my parents for the first time and it's got him kind of nervous."

"Kind of?" she said sarcastically. Her hand shot up to her mouth almost the moment she said it. "I did not mean that. I'm sorry. It's just been a long day. He really hasn't been that awful," she apologized quickly.

"Well, I'm sure he has been that awful. He's very good at destroying people's patience but thank you," Juliet laughed.

She laughed a little awkwardly and nodded. "Okay, well I wish him luck with your parents."

"Thanks," Juliet proffered, "And I will talk to him. Don't worry."

"I'd appreciate that," she replied, leaving to assist someone else.

Juliet sat trying to decide how to broach the topic with Shawn. He would almost certainly deny being nervous. Still deep in thought, she opened the bag of pretzels. Popping one into her mouth she considered her options. There was always joking around about it or talking in theoreticals or reassuring him that her parents were going to love him.

"You're eating my pretzels," Shawn accused, suddenly appearing by her side.

"You're freaking out about meeting my parents," Juliet shot back. Apparently, she was going with the direct approach.

Shawn stood still, surprised. One of his eyes twitched and then he shuffled around Juliet, sinking into his seat dejectedly. He held out his hand to her, palm cupped for the pretzels. "Yes," he answered truthfully, making little eye contact.

Juliet dumped a few pretzels in his hand and reassured softly, "Shawn, you have nothing to worry about. My family will love you."

"Will they? Parents never like me. They think I'm immature and irresponsible and a little bit of a freak," Shawn admitted quietly.

It was a little touching to hear him say that because Juliet knew Shawn, for the most part, didn't care about what others thought of him. Obviously, her family's approval mattered a lot. Juliet laid her hand on his knee.

"Shawn, you are a little bit of all of those things but you are also funny and smart and kind and handsome and successful. When was the last time you met a girl's parents? When you were 16? A lot's changed since then. You've changed since then," Juliet reminded him, impassioned.

Shawn, stubborn as always, shook his head and disagreed, even though he knew she was right. "I don't think your parents and brothers will see me the same way you do."

"Yes, they will," she poked him emphatically in the chest with each word. "For the past seven years I've told them more about you than anyone or anything else. They probably knew I was in love with you before I did. They will love you if for no other reason than because I love you."

"You talk about me more than anyone or anything else," Shawn asked teasingly. It wasn't that much of a revelation. Ewan had told him as much a couple of years ago.

Juliet blushed and swatted Shawn's arm. "Yes."

"More than your job, more than Lassiter, Gus, the chief, more than your apartment, more than your cats?" Shawn asked, eyes twinkling playfully.

"Yes," Juliet humored him, "Well, maybe not more than the cats."

".Ha," Shawn fake-laughed, finally eating the pretzels in his hand.

"Wow! These are actually really good," Shawn said surprised while he chewed vigourously, "Maybe we should get another bag."

**To Anyone Who Cares: **I hope you like it. Remember, for best results eat Honey Mustard & Onion Pretzels while reading. I hadn't actually ever had this flavor so I also had to run out to the store and get a bag. I know peanuts are apparently the stereotypical airplane food but the one long flight I took they offered pretzels so there. Thank you so much PsychLover, Pineapple 2000, The Teal Dragon, Bartowski13, booksandbeachgirl, psychlover23, Princess Cinnabun, 2016consarm, WillowEchoRiver, Foxwithgrayeyes, Surreal Squirrel, Wragziez, hoodnmazalways, soccerwriter, RunBabyRun8312, NobleCaliber, unpocoloco13, 0Twisted-Symphony6, MissAwesomeness, dare-to-dream22, xpsychxssjs, Erin, anonymous, sparksfly16, frenchhornfreak, ArmyRoses, Juleskat101, DarkBrownEyes08, iknowuknow, MaddyTaddy627, dramaticwriting 101 happyendingz, disordered, iLoveRomance2o11, Saoirse Driscoll, hidden magic, You-won't-see-an-iguana-here, sadiegrl,Harri85, Dakota Kent, xfirefly9x, and gnbrules for reviewing.


	19. Apples and Peanut Butter

Midnight Snacks

**Disclaimer: **Um… supposedly I don't own Psych or any of the characters in it. Not yet, at least, [insert evil laugh].

**Summary:** Shawn and Juliet and their midnight rendezvous. Each one-shot centers around food.

Apples and Peanut Butter:

"Jules?" Shawn mumbled for the most part still asleep, reaching out blindly for his wife, "Where are you going?"

"Shh. Just go back to sleep. The chief called me in," Juliet whispered soothingly as she slipped out of the bed.

"What time is it?" Shawn asked, barely coherent.

"3:40," Juliet answered, making her way into the bathroom.

Shawn squeezed his eyes shut when she flicked the bathroom light on and groaned.

"I'll see you later today then, when the normal people are awake," he said, pulling the covers up over his face, eyes still shut.

"Ok. Make sure you stop by the grocery store today though. The list is on the fridge… or somewhere in the kitchen."

The sink turned on. Shawn could hear Juliet splashing water on her face. Then the sound of her vigorously brushing her teeth and then… Shawn's ears perked up as he heard Juliet's toothbrush clatter in the sink followed quickly by the clank of the toilet and the thud of something or Juliet hitting the ground.

Shawn sat straight up in bed and called out anxiously, "Jules? You okay?"

Her answer was violent gagging and a whimpered, "Shawn."

Shawn jumped out of bed, tripping over one of his shoes as he hurried into the bathroom. Juliet was on her knees in front of the toilet, one hand holding her hair back as she vomited.

"Hon," Shawn exclaimed sympathetically. He rushed behind her, gathering up her hair in his hands.

She leaned in again and continued to vomit.

"It's okay. I've got you. I love you," Shawn whispered repeatedly as he gently rubbed circles on her back.

Juliet spit a couple of times before saying quietly, "I think I'm good."

"Are you sure? We can keep sitting here," Shawn suggested.

"No, really I'm fine. I just want to wash my mouth out and brush my teeth," Juliet said, starting to stand.

"Ok. Hold on. Let me help you up," Shawn consented, pulling her up from the ground.

She leaned heavily against the sink as Shawn grabbed a cup and filled it with water. Handing it to her, he moved out of her way so she could spit into the sink.

Shawn stood in the doorway and watched as she washed out her mouth and brushed her teeth. He had an idea but didn't want to say anything yet.

By the time she had finished, her face had mostly lost the sickly pallor and she was supporting her own body weight. She brushed past Shawn, out of the bathroom and headed straight for their closet.

"Where do you think you're going?" Shawn asked, dancing in front of Juliet to block her path.

"To the closet for my clothes so I can go to work. I already told you that," Juliet answered as if it was the stupidest question she'd ever heard.

"Yeah, that was before you threw up two days worth of food. The only place you're going is back to bed," Shawn rebutted.

"Don't be ridiculous, Shawn. I'm going to work. The chief called me in," Juliet argued, trying to get past him.

"And I'll call her and let her know you're not coming in today. Santa Barbara will survive a day without you."

Juliet stared back at him defiantly. "How about I call the Chief and tell her I'm going to be late. I eat something and show you I'm fine then I go to work," Juliet compromised unhappily.

"I can live with that," Shawn agreed, smirking. She wasn't going to work today.

"Now get back in bed. I'll call the chief," Shawn ordered, lightly pushing her in the right direction, "What do you want to eat?"

"Hmm. Can you cut up an apple?" Juliet requested.

"Of course. You want peanut butter with it, right?" Shawn asked as he left the room.

"Yes." Was there any other way to eat an apple.

Shawn slipped into the kitchen and looked at their fruit bowl. Three Pink Lady apples sat in it. Stifling his grin, Shawn went back to their bedroom where Juliet sat with her arms crossed, looking irritated.

"We don't have any apples," Shawn lied, "I'm going to run out to the store real quick and get some. Do you want anything else?"

"You don't have to do that. I can eat something else," Juliet replied, her frustration quickly dissipating at his sweetness.

"Nope. You wanted an apple. It'll only take me a second," Shawn told her, "Just watch some TV. Relax."

He quickly left the house, thoughts buzzing, an uncontrollable grin on his face.

* * *

In actuality it took Shawn 17 minutes.

"Jules, I'm back," Shawn called out.

"Thank you. I'm not forgetting our deal though," Juliet replied from the bedroom.

"Of course. I told the chief that you're going to be late today." Lie. He had told the chief she wasn't coming at all today. "She says not to come in if you're not absolutely sure you're okay."

"I'm fine."

He dumped the grocery bags onto the counter resolving to unpack them later. Excited beyond reason, he cut and peeled one of the old apples then spooned out a clump of creamy peanut butter onto a plate.

Before making his way into their bedroom, Shawn grabbed his other purchase off the counter.

"Apples and peanut butter for my beautiful wife," Shawn announced, entering the room. He jumped onto the bed and handed her the plate.

Juliet took the plate from him gratefully. Curious, a little suspicious, she knew her husband, she pointed to the bag in his other hand and asked, "What's that?"

"Don't freak out," Shawn warned before pulling a home pregnancy test out of the bag.

Juliet stared at the box nervously, hopefully. It's wasn't like the thought hadn't occurred to her either but getting sick _one_ morning seemed to early to be getting her hopes up. She reached out tentatively and took the box from Shawn's outstretched hand. He waited expectantly for her to say something.

"Shawn, I've been on the pill," she said quietly, trying to lower his hopes. It would just be too much of a miracle that she'd be pregnant without them even trying.

"Accidents happen all the time," Shawn reminded her, ever the optimist, "Happy accidents."

"You know if I'm not we can just start trying. If that's what we want," Juliet said, watching Shawn.

Shawn grinned. "I think I do want that very much. A baby Spencer."

Juliet, smiling widely at the very thought, leaned across the bed and kissed Shawn urgently, passionately. She pulled back from him abruptly, patted his cheek, and slipped out of the bed, pregnancy test in hand.

"Me too."

She ripped open the box as she walked to the bathroom with Shawn following just behind her. They both noticed her hands shook a little as she withdrew the stick. With nerves, excitement, anticipation, fear, hope? She had to force herself to calm down and prepare for disappointment. Odds were she wasn't pregnant, yet.

At the door of the bathroom, Juliet spun around and gently pushed Shawn back. "I love you but you're waiting outside."

"Really?" Shawn asked incredulously.

"Really." Juliet deadpanned, shutting the door on him.

Shawn, for his part, didn't argue or complain any further. He just leaned his head against the closed door and waited. A very long two minutes later, Juliet pulled the door open.

"What's it say?" Shawn asked eagerly, looking at the stick in her hand.

"Patience," Juliet teased, "It'll take a minute."

Her eyes darted back and forth between the test, the clock, and Shawn. Across from her, his fingers drummed out a rhythm against his crossed arms.

"Oh my god," Juliet exclaimed, mouth hanging open.

Shawn started to ask, just to be sure, "The plus means-"

"Yes, I'm pregnant," she breathed out.

Shawn squealed in delight and grabbed Juliet around the waist. He spun her around a couple of times while chanting, "We're going to have a baby. We're going to have a baby."

Setting her back on solid ground, hands never leaving her waist, Shawn kissed her deeply.

Breathing heavily, they finally pulled away, identical smiles on their face.

"I love you," Shawn whispered, reaching up to wipe away the one happy tear tracking down her face.

"I love you too," she replied, eyes twinkling. "We'll have to make an appointment at the doctor's office to confirm this."

Shawn grinned deviously and started to maneuver Juliet back to their bed. "We can do that later."

The back of Juliet's legs hit the bed and she mumbled something that sounded like an agreement before pulling Shawn down with her.

**To Anyone Who Cares: **I hope you like it. If you didn't notice, I'm three reviews away from 100 which I'm really excited about so I wanted to really say thank you (!) to all of my readers for being so encouraging, supportive, and awesome! Thank You! Anyway, on to business, I've got some ideas for the next few chapters but I want to do something really special for chapter 20 so I'm still thinking about that. If anybody wants to throw out any ideas of something they're just dying to see I'm totally open to that. Remember, for best results eat apples WITH peanut butter while reading. Thank you so much Rionabelle, mariaxlove, Red Pen Ninja, PsychLover, Pineapple 2000, The Teal Dragon, Bartowski13, booksandbeachgirl, psychlover23, Princess Cinnabun, 2016consarm, WillowEchoRiver, Foxwithgrayeyes, Surreal Squirrel, Wragziez, hoodnmazalways, soccerwriter, RunBabyRun8312, NobleCaliber, unpocoloco13, 0Twisted-Symphony6, MissAwesomeness, dare-to-dream22, xpsychxssjs, Erin, anonymous, sparksfly16, frenchhornfreak, ArmyRoses, Juleskat101, DarkBrownEyes08, iknowuknow, MaddyTaddy627, dramaticwriting 101 happyendingz, disordered, iLoveRomance2o11, Saoirse Driscoll, hidden magic, You-won't-see-an-iguana-here, sadiegrl,Harri85, Dakota Kent, xfirefly9x, and gnbrules for reviewing.


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